Angelic Guardians: The Gathering
by TheGoodWitchoftheNorth
Summary: ORIGINAL STORY! First book of a 15-book fantasy-apocalyptic series, "Angelic Guardians: The Gathering" focuses on the story of a university student named Rizu Hikarino who discovers a secret about herself and a quest to fulfill an ancient prophecy.
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes & Disclaimer:** To my faithful fan fiction readers, I know some of you are starting to wonder why I came back from the dead after I abandoned my fan fics. Well, it's a long story, but this story right here is the biggest reason of them all. Aside from my fan fiction writing, I started to work on a book in 2006 based on several characters that I drew. I put it aside for a while because I thought I wasn't going anywhere with it, but then I picked it up again one day, and it took off right there. Long story cut short: I have been doing more original writing than fan fiction writing just so you, my readers, can do a fan fiction based off of this new series. In fact, I put my fourth book on hold so I can focus on the first book.

_Angelic Guardians_ and its spinoff series _Demonic Guardians_ are all part of a 15-book fantasy/apocalyptic/dark magical girl & boy series that focuses on the emphasis of the book of Revelation, the 2012 theory, and the New World Order theory. It also deals with the never-ending war between angels and demons. I hope that _Angelic Guardians & Demonic Guardians_ becomes the next best thing in mainstream literature like _Harry Potter _and _Twilight_.

Some of you will notice that I have taken the elements of Dante's _Inferno_, Milton's _Paradise Lost_, and Naoko Takeuchi's _Sailor Moon_ to make this series possible. If you are thinking _Angelic Guardians_ is going to be as cheesy as _Sailor Moon_, just walk away right now. It is NOT going to be as cheesy as the Moonie. In fact, I did say that this series was a dark magical girl/boy series, did I not? What do I mean by dark? I mean that this series is not going to be kid-friendly. There is a lot of drama, language, tragedy, and adult romance (implied or graphic) with the occiasional drinking and herb smoking. If you're offended by this already, you might as well walk out with those who think _Angelic Guardians_ is too cute. And if you are offended by religious themes or my contradictive beliefs in my writing, go ahead and start a fan page on Facebook to show your strong dislike toward me and my series. I already know my books will get banned by the church and by the schools. But if you like what I write, welcome aboard!

And just for the record, yes, I am a Christian, but I do support the new age movement and the legalization for marijuana to stop the discrimination of certain religions in the States. I believe that all religions are equal, regardless of how people wish to worship God, Allah, Yahweh, Jah, Shinmei, etc.

One thing that you should know is that I intend to publish these books just so I can join the ranks of Rowling and Meyer, perhaps overshadow _Twilight_ with two of my favorite characters. That being said, please do not steal this concept. Everything you see here is mine: the plots, the characters, the scenes... MINE! Also, this is the only time I will ever accept flames. I want this book to be PERFECT when I am done, and I will need your help to make it better.

And so, without further ado, I bring you _Angelic Guardians: The Gathering_.

Prologue

_"In the beginning… God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'_

_"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them… God saw that… it was very good." – Genesis 1(NIV)_

Sin had been a longtime enemy to the grace of Shinmei since it was first introduced to Adan and Ibu in the _niwa_ by one of the most devious, manipulative deceivers of history: Myoujou the Dark Demon. He had brought sin into the world as his ultimate revenge against Shinmei for casting him out of Heaven after seeking domination in the First Holy War. His plan worked when the woman took the forbidden fruit, gave it to her husband, and ate it.

Though he was cursed by Shinmei for what he had done, Myoujou did not stop his wickedness. He was able to spread it throughout generation after generation, causing Shinmei to send a giant flood around the world and destroy his beloved creation with the exception of a man named Noa, his family, and a pair of every animal on earth. He could have given up, but he was determined to continue his manipulation until every mortal in existence had given his allegiance to him until death.

That became the last straw for Shinmei. He made a covenant to Noa that he would never destroy the world again, but after watching man fall back to his sinful nature long after the flood, he knew he had use his last resort to stop Myoujou—the perfect sacrifice of the Lamb according to the prophecies. In order to for it happen, he sent his only Son, Iesu, to earth to reestablish man's personal relationship with him and to prepare his people for the coming of his kingdom.

Seeing Iesu walking among men and women angered Myoujou greatly, and through many teachers of the law who felt threatened by Iesu's presence and through the betrayal of the disciple Judasu, he laughed at Shinmei as he watched Iesu be put to death on the cross. His laughter suddenly ceased on the third day when he heard Iesu had been resurrected and freed from the tomb, and he made another promise of revenge against the Creator of the universe.

"You may have taken your Son back home for now, Shinmei, but I will win the souls you've longed for and use them against you!" he screamed to Heaven from the ninth ring of his icy domain. "I'll make the earth mine, and after that, you're next!"

Rumors of Iesu sightings spread like wildfire, and His former followers spoke of His teachings to many people throughout the land, but in an attempt to silence the word from reaching to other parts of the world, many political leaders and enemies of Iesu had all but one sentenced to death. The apostle Jon was the only original disciple to have ever survived from being physically tortured, and he was exiled to a faraway island where he had vivid visions of the end of the world, the doom of Myoujou, and the return of Iesu. These visions were later known as the Revelations of Jon.

Troubled by what could possibly be the sudden end of his hard work, Myoujou, along with his demons, went into the world and began to search for gullible souls so that he could have an army that would overpower the angels on Judgment Day morning. He had managed to win over two great traitors of Roman history—Kasushiusu and Buruutasu, the conspirators behind Shi-za's assassination who later became demonic commanders of his growing army—and turned the world upside down through radical communistic teachings, which lead to the Russian Revolution and two deadly World Wars in the twentieth century.

He was present during the Enlightenment when the early atheists began to question the existence of Shinmei, and he was standing beside leaders of powerful nations when schools across the world began to abolish religion, especially _kirisutokyou_, from the curriculum. He gave full support toward blasphemous acts of homosexuality, adultery, and other forms of promiscuity, and he watched with glee as priests and ministers were accused of child molestation, ordained as church leaders with homosexual backgrounds, and found of having no guilt for marrying the divorced, although it was clearly stated in the _seisho_ that a divorced and unfaithful woman was not to be married again.

Such acts in the church led to those outside its doors to become skeptics to _kirisutokyou_, but acts outside the church's walls only added more fuel to the fire of disbelief. While _kirisutokyou_ was the predominant religion internationally, it was also the largest religion that was filled with bigots, hypocrites, and greedy clergymen. Some people of the _kurisuchan_ faith recognized and accepted their faults, but others—the majority—refused to change their ways.

It saddened Shinmei to see his people not living the life they had claimed to be living, but he was also angry to see his beloved church accepting the lifestyle of the new age. Were they not paying attention to the signs of the end of the times? Did they not know that they were setting the stage for what was to come according to Jon's revelations?

He longed to immediately fulfill those prophecies just to renew the world, but he knew the time was not right, for there was another prophecy that was yet to be fulfilled.

During the time when he was forming the universe and the earth, he created ten holy entities based on several elements and later two more following the fall of man in I-den. These twelve entities were known as the Angelic Guardians. They were part of a special breed of angels who came down to earth and disguised themselves as mortals until their death. On the outside, one would assume they were ordinary human beings, but they were far from being ordinary. They possessed a pure power that was blessed by Shinmei, and they used that magic to protect mankind and to keep the natural circumstances of the earth in balance.

Although no one had ever seen them with the naked eye, the Angelic Guardians were present throughout time and in the writings of the _seisho_. The Angel of Death, for example, played an important role during the Passover and again during the Crucifixion, but his other half, the Angel of Life, was the Angelic Guardian who helped resurrect Iesu and rolled the stone away from the tomb. In historical accounts such as the Second World War, a remorseful Angel of Death used his power to take the lives of those that were killed in the concentration camps of Germany and in the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, but he led many of them to their eternal doom in Hell because of their ignorance toward Iesu.

Like every mortal, the Angelic Guardians had a designated amount of time on earth, but although many souls were not granted the permission to reincarnate, these entities could. Reincarnation after reincarnation, they took on a different appearance according to the will of Shinmei, but they were never seen together as a whole for a purpose. To unite all of them in the same land at the same time meant that the end of the world was to come during that lifetime. Shinmei made sure to not let it happen while reassigning the Angelic Guardians, and the oceans and the mountains of their native lands kept them separated for a long time.

But suddenly, something happened that caused Shinmei to assign them all to the country of Japan starting in the early and middle 1970s when three Angelic Guardians were born along the northeastern region near a city called Riku no Kaikou. Over a decade later, the other nine that were chosen to fight in the final battle came into the world, and several of the younger Angelic Guardians were clustered in cities near Tokyo. The angels had no idea why Shinmei allowed it to happen, but they trusted their Creator's decision and prayed that this was done to fulfill the revelations.

Myoujou was furious when he heard this, and he left Hell to search for these twelve Guardians. He had no luck until he felt a powerful presence that radiated from a tiny baby in the city of Roganu. It was a presence he instantly recognized when he briefly lived in the Garden of I-den, and it made his blood boil with rage.

The baby was born with the Seed Crystal that had once belonged to Tamashii, the Angelic Guardian of the Soul and the Light, and she was destined to lead the faithful into victory in the war between angels and demons. According to the legends of the angels, wherever Tamashii was born so were the blessings of Shinmei.

_And that means this city is heavily favored by him too,_ thought Myoujou. _I refuse to let him have it! One way or another, I will make Roganu mine!_

What was once a peaceful, spiritual land had suddenly become polluted with demons possessing human souls, and Myoujou had full control over Roganu until the day Tamashii stood in opposition of his reign fifteen years later. With the help of a few rebels who were also Angelic Guardians, she sealed him away after a three-year war inside a large block of ice and sent him to the lowest ring of Hell so that he could no longer be a threat to the world. Thinking that Myoujou was gone for good, she was given the chance to become a normal girl again in exchange for her memories of being Tamashii and having ever served Shinmei as an Angelic Guardian. She took the offer, and she left her friends behind to begin a new chapter of her life.

She had forgotten one thing: she had banished Myoujou into his chosen ring where his loyal followers were anxiously waiting for his return. Kasushiusu helped him rise again, and they vowed to search and destroy the girl who somehow managed to defeat the Ruler of the Underworld. When they received word that she had moved to another city that they had kept an eye on because of its ties to Shinmei, all operations in Roganu were then shifted to Oukan, the home of her new school Oukan University.

The remainder of Tamashii's team became disgruntled when there were no demons left to destroy in Roganu, and because they were pressured to return to their sinful ways by their peers, they denounced their faith and destroyed their Seed Crystals, killing the Angelic Guardians that lived inside them along with their memories. Shinmei was angry with their decision, and he had to find the other Angelic Guardians that would play an important part in the final battle. There were now eleven that were unaccounted for, and they were all living somewhere in Japan.

But where?

Calling upon the archangel Geiburieru, the angel who mentored Tamashii and her team from Roganu Junior & Senior High School, Shinmei instructed him to find her in Oukan University before Myoujou could lay a finger on her. "And before you go, Geiburieru, take this," he added.

A velvet box appeared before the archangel, and he lifted the lid to reveal not one but five _henshin_ pens that would transform an ordinary mortal into an Angelic Guardian. He recognized the one in the center—a pen made out of gold with traces of pink quartz—but he was not familiar with the other four. "Are you asking me to find four others besides Tamashii?" he inquired.

"Yes," replied Shinmei. "I have received word from your brothers and sisters that Tamashii isn't the only Angelic Guardian attending Oukan University. Help Tamashii find them, but under any circumstances, do not let her regain her memories."

"But, Master, she will want to know!"

"I will take care of it when the time comes. Don't fail me, Geiburieru. She is our only hope."

Geiburieru did as he was told, and he came down from Heaven to Oukan, disguising himself as a faculty member at the Oukan University Library. In his hand was the box containing the five magical _henshin_ pens, and he peered inside one more time out of sheer curiosity.

Tamashii's pen began to radiate from its crystal top, and Geiburieru let out a heavy sigh of uncertainty. "I'm sorry I have to do this to you, Tamashii," he said aloud as he shut the box with a soft click, "but we need your help."


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Starting Over – Meet Rizu Hikarino!

"Hey, _baka!_ If you don't hurry up, we're going to be late for work! And I'm driving!"

Nineteen-year-old Erizabesu Hikarino cringed at her younger sister's order. She checked her wristwatch and noticed that it was only thirty minutes after three o'clock. She had been working on her hair for the last ten minutes to make herself look presentable, but with all the damage she had done to the cinnamon blonde curls between her flat iron and the hard, polluted city water of Oukan, she knew she was going to lose another battle.

"Coming!" she called back.

Slamming her brush onto the bathroom table, she groaned as she reached for a pink scrunchy and several bobby pins inside the little wicker basket beneath the mirror. Once she had a nice style that was deemed as acceptable for her job, she looked at her reflection and sighed. "That's as good as it's gonna get," she said to herself.

She grabbed her work cap hanging from the back of her desk chair in her bedroom and sprinted down the staircase. She was about to pick up her lunchbox in the kitchen when the phone began to ring on its charger from the bar. "Shit!" she cursed under her breath. "Who is it this time?"

She picked up the black cordless device, "_Moshi moshi?_"

"Is this Erizabesu Hikarino?" asked an unfamiliar man on the other line.

"Speaking."

"Hi, Erizabesu. My name is Micchi. I'm your new residence hall director at Oukan University. I'm calling to let you know I was able to find you a roommate for this new school year. You did request for a roommate, no?"

"Yeah, I did," replied Rizu glumly as she remembered how some of the girls that she wanted to room with quickly turned her down at the start of the room requests_. I hope it's not a freshman_, she thought. _Anyone but a freshman!_

"That's great! Her name is Beronika Hoshino, and she will be a junior this year. She's a transfer student from Koganei, so she's not completely familiar with how we do things at Oukan. I hope you can show her the ropes and teach her everything she needs to know," explained Micchi.

"I will."

"Awesome."

Micchi continued, "Well, you should be getting something in the mail from Housing & Dining real soon about your roommate assignment. I highly suggest that you get in contact with Beronika right away when you do receive it."

"I will," promised Erizabesu.

"Good. And if you need anything, you can contact me through email or call me during my office hours. My phone number and email address are listed on the school's website under the staff and faculty directory link."

"Okay. Thank you!"

"You're welcome, Erizabesu! Have a nice day."

"You too."

As soon as she heard the other line go dead, she put the phone back onto the charger and listened to Po-ra complaining on the other side of the front door. Although her sister was lecturing her about being a slowpoke on the way to their job at Roganu Beach, Erizabesu, or Rizu as many had started to call her by then, paid no attention.

Instead, she was thinking about her new roommate and how the new school year would likely be for her. _I just hope this Beronika person is a better roommate than my first one_, she told herself.

Rizu and Po-ra worked at one of the biggest concession stands along the boardwalk at Roganu Beach, a local family-owned amusement park that stretched across the shore in the southern port of Roganu. There were five roller coasters, a beach area off of the Sea of Japan with a built-in water park, and several carnival rides such as the giant Ferris wheel, the oldest attraction on the property. Many people would come and vacation there every summer, for the prices were cheaper than the amusement parks that were operated by big corporations.

It was the hottest spot in Roganu, Japan, and the ideal place for the first date, but for whatever reason that evening, the attendance had remained low since the start of the evening shift. Coming into the front room while working on a Cookies & Cream Avalanche that she had bought from the soft serve ice cream stand, Rizu found her best friend Robato Tsuchino, or Robu as he preferred, looking out the giant window in the candy room with a bored expression on his pale face. "This really bites," he mumbled.

"What's going on?" asked Rizu as she took a spoonful of her Avalanche into her mouth.

"Absolutely nothing. It's going on seven o'clock, and I haven't had a single customer before we took our breaks!" replied Robu. "And my ADHD is starting to bug the hell out me! I need something to do!"

"Why don't you ask your grandmama?" suggested Rizu.

Robu narrowed his brown eyes and retorted, "What do you think I am? Suicidal? That woman will give me some kind of odd job that I don't want to do right now!"

"Like what?"

"Washing down the cabinets, polishing the taffy and caramel corn cases, cleaning out the air conditioners… you know, _those_ jobs?"

"I'd be more than glad to give up bagging taffy pieces for the night if you're willing."

"Fuck no!" snorted Robu. "I've dealt with that shit for a long time until last summer! You have no idea how sick and tiring bagging taffy gets!"

"Fine," sighed Rizu. "You can keep on moaning and groaning all you want. I'm gonna finish up bagging."

"Have fun," said Robu sarcastically.

Two hours later, Emeri Sousei came out of her office with a cigarette in her right hand, and she shook her head in disapproval as she observed the lack of activity on the boardwalk. "This isn't good, Robato," she commented to her grandson, who looked up from reading a Japanese _Star Wars_ novel. "Where did all our business go?"

"Grandmama, the weekend doesn't begin until tomorrow," replied Robu, "and school is starting very soon."

"Speaking of school, did you get everything packed for your trip in the morning?"

"Yes, Grandmama."

The concessionaire spotted Rizu from the corner of her right eye and smiled to herself. "You know, Robato, life is too precious and can be cut short if we're not careful," she said sagely. "There are some things that we want in life, but we can't afford to wait on them forever."

"What are you saying?" asked Robu cautiously as he glanced up from his book.

"I know you like her."

"Grandmama—"

"You ought to go over there and talk to her for a while since you won't be able to see her again after tonight. You don't have anything better to do besides reading, do you?"

"No," grumbled Robu before he closed his book shut and set it aside on the cooling table to his right. "You're such a meddling fool, you know that?"

"I just know a good thing when I see it," replied Emeri with a smirk.

As he watched his grandmother head toward the storeroom in the back of the concession stand, Robu got up from his chair and walked over to the candy room where Rizu was making quite a bit of progress with the taffy bags. He stood at the threshold where the two rooms connected, and resting his right arm against the frame, he let out a soft sigh of frustration.

Emeri had a knack at knowing exactly what was running through her grandson's mind. Rizu was a graduate fresh out of high school with no work experience until Emeri decided to hire her the previous summer, and Robu was sent to Roganu that June to repay his parents for a car accident that nearly claimed his life. Once the concessionaire saw the strange attraction between them, she immediately knew she made the right choice when she accepted Sherona Hikarino's plea for help on her behalf of her daughter.

The two women had a history together as former coworkers at one of Roganu's powerful law firms, but Emeri retired too soon to introduce Robu to Rizu when they were children and lost all contact with Sherona until Rizu had started to look for a summer job to pay for her first set of textbooks. She knew that if Rizu and her sister Po-ra were anything like their parents, she would be able to trust them with her private business.

That was how Rizu came into Robu's life, and there were many days when he silently thanked whoever, or whatever, told Emeri to hire Rizu that year. They did not become best friends right away, for Robu was upset with his grandmother that a rookie like Rizu had become a manager when he was promised to have the title first, but after he had cooled down from his temper tantrum, things between them became better.

They were strikingly alike in many ways. Both of them were into manga, anime, and the _Pocket Monsters_ video games. They also liked to listen to rock music, especially from the United States and Great Britain, and they did not care too much for normality or the current fads in their age groups.

Yet, there were two major differences between them. Though he was a nerd with an appreciation for gothicism, Robu had a strong magnetism to attract girls who were into the industrial and punk scene. Rizu, on the other hand, could not get any attention from guys, even if she tried. There was something repelling about her that made her male peers feel uncomfortable whenever she suggested the thought of dating them.

The second difference was their religious views. Rizu grew up in a _kurisuchan_ home with traditional morals that had become the structure of her lifestyle. Sherona was a devout follower and insisted that her daughters take up her faith before leaving home for university.

Robu, however, was a full-fledged atheist and was heavily against organized religion. He would sneer at the thought of going to mass with his grandmother whenever he visited Roganu for the holidays, and he was forced to dress presentable every time he went as a child. By the time he had become a teenager, he started to voice his opinion against the church after seeing the number of hypocrites, including Emeri, who had claimed to be of the _kurisuchan_ faith and yet lived their lives differently than the _seisho_ had instructed them to.

When he first heard that Rizu was a _kurisuchan,_ he felt unsure about continuing with their friendship if religious debates were bound to arise, but she assured him many times that she would never judge him for what he believed in. Her words made him feel sure of himself, and he eventually shrugged the whole thing off.

Now a year later, he found himself feeling a deep, inexplicable sensation every time he looked at her, and it scared him. He could not say what it was whenever their eyes met, but it made him feel strangely warm inside. Some would argue that what he was feeling for Rizu was all part of his destiny, but Robu Tsuchino did not believe in destiny nor did he believe in soul mates.

He thought that it was sexual tension that drove him crazy whenever Rizu stood near him, and he had finally cracked the week before when she visited him one morning for a _Pocket Monsters_ battle. One thing led to another, and he woke up an hour later in his bed feeling selfish yet protective of the girl at his side.

He was starting to wonder if he was falling for his best friend after all. Little did he know that she was thinking the same thing.

Rizu looked up from her task when she caught Robu's reflection on the glass in front of her and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," replied Robu coolly.

"Robu, you were staring at me."

"You didn't seem to mind until now."

_I didn't mind at all,_ thought Rizu sadly as she lowered her gaze to the plastic container of taffy pieces and continued bagging by the handfuls.

Taking her silent response as a positive affirmation, Robu moved over to the display counter and leaned his long body against it, crossing his arms over his chest before breaking the awkward silence between them. "About last week," he began softly, "I'm still sorry for that. I didn't know what came over me."

"There's no need to regret," said Rizu. "We both wanted it."

"But it was still wrong of me to use you like that."

"You didn't use me."

"Rizu, I'm not the kind of guy who would use a friend for sex," said Robu straightforwardly. "Most of the girls I'm friends with don't have the same appeal as you do, and I lost complete control of myself. I had no idea what I was doing."

"So, what am I to you now?" sighed Rizu as she tossed the plastic bag onto the electronic scale in the corner. "A friend with benefits?"

"No!" replied Robu. "You're more than that!"

"Then, what I am?"

He wanted to call her what he knew she longed to hear from his lips, but to say that she was his girlfriend was just a little bit over the edge for his comfort. Instead, he chose his words carefully before he opened his mouth and answered, "Someone that I care deeply for, and yet I have no clue of why I do."

_Yeah, you do, asshole,_ chided his inner voice. _You're just too chicken to tell her how you really feel!_

Rizu felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she said shyly, "Thanks for the compliment."

"I'm sorry that it wasn't exactly how you thought your first time would be," apologized Robu. "Hell, I'm still trying to figure out how come you weren't crying or anything."

Rizu's hand came to a sudden stop above the taffy pieces, and she felt her body stiffen from his observation. "Maybe I'm an exception," she answered.

"Doubtful. You better not have been lying to me."

"Robu, I _know_ I've never slept with another guy! I just don't know why it's still bothering you. I mean you hate to sleep with virgins anyway."

"I know," mumbled Robu. _But you were different._

"Well, just so you know, I'm kinda glad I didn't have to go through the pain," confessed Rizu as she began to fill another empty bag. "I might have done us a favor."

"Yeah. So, besides that, what else has been on your mind?"

_You,_ thought Rizu. "I got a phone call today from my new hall director."

"Oh? What for?"

"He told me a little bit about my new roommate."

"I see," said Robu slowly. "Something tells me that you're not looking forward to this."

"I just don't want to have another roommate who thinks that I'm some sort of weirdo because I'm different," replied Rizu sadly.

"The last one did?"

"Her and a few of her friends she ran around with. I tried to be friends with them, but I guess we couldn't connect. I felt more like an outsider looking in every time we hung out, and even though I was surrounded by all those girls, I was still lonely."

"Was your last roommate a prep in high school?"

"I wouldn't say that she was a prep. She was just very outgoing."

"Are you scared that this new roommate is going to be just like her?" asked Robu.

"Yes," croaked Rizu as she felt tears prickling from the corner of her eyes. "I just don't want to feel the pain again, Robu. I don't want it."

At that point, she felt a warm, comforting hand covering her left one that was on the counter. She looked up and saw Robu smiling at her with brown eyes twinkling with hope behind his glasses. "Rizu, I don't know what it is, but something is telling me that everything is going to be all right and that this school year is going to be memorable."

"How do you know?" she asked

"I don't know," he replied with a shrug, "but I can guarantee you that it will be so much better that last year."

"I hope so."

"I _know_ so."

Hopping off the counter, Robu walked back to the main room of the concession stand, but he was caught off his guard by a sudden hug from Rizu as she rushed up to him and wrapped her arms around his slender waist. Somewhere in her sobs, he heard a soft "thank you" coming from her lips.

He smiled down at her and hugged her back, unaware of his grandmother watching them with a smirk and a mischievous gleam in her grey eyes until he looked over to his left to find her standing not too far away.

Rizu felt herself being pulled away from him and saw Emeri approaching them. "I-I-I'm sorry!" she stammered, fearing that she was about to be reprimanded for public display of affection while on the job.

Emeri smiled tenderly at the two of them and walked by to get some more coffee from the coffeepot in the candy room. "It's quite all right," she said, pouring one last cup into her favorite mug. "I know you two must have had a meaningful conversation, and I'm sure you were crying because Robu is leaving for Kirugoru tomorrow morning and you won't be there to watch him leave."

She placed a hand on Rizu's shoulder as she returned and said, "It's okay, Rizu. I trust the two of you. But I'm afraid it's about time to get this place cleaned up for the night. I'll help Po-ra close the candle cart a little bit early, seeing how she's not making much business either. You two start taking care of the trash and then get hopping on the sweeping."

"Yes, Emeri."

As the concessionaire walked out of the building using the side door, Rizu became so engrossed with the clean-up that she did not hear someone getting into the ice chest next to the soda fountain and filling a small paper cup with ice cubes. She was leaning over to turn on the shop vacuum that was beneath the candy counter when she suddenly felt ice running down her back and down into her blue jean flares, causing her to squeal at the top of her lungs.

She dropped the vacuum wand at her feet and slowly turned around to face Robu with eyes that were threatening him with death. "Robato Rei Tsuchino!" she hollered.

"Hey, you had it coming!" said Robu defensively. "A lady should never moon a gentleman like that!"

"You pervert! Come here, Robu! I'm not done with you!"

Covering the candle cart for the night with a giant tarp, Po-ra and Emeri paused momentarily to watch Rizu throwing pieces of ice at her best friend. "Those two, I tell you!" said Po-ra in exasperation with a shake of her head.

Emeri chuckled softly and mused to herself, _I must have done something right after all these years. I have never seen Robu act like this in a long time. Perhaps I am not as senile as he thinks I am._

As they carried several bags of trash and a few cardboard boxes to the dumpster long after the park had ceased its ride daily operations, neither Rizu nor Robu uttered a single word until they had reached their destination. "Are you sure you are going to be okay, Rizu?" asked Robu with a concerned look in his eyes, tossing his black trash bags into the dumpster.

"Yeah, I think so," she replied as she threw her bags in after him.

"You better, or I will personally make a trip to Oukan and steal you away from that place."

"What if I don't want to be stolen?"

Robu laughed and dismissed the suggestion with a shake of his dark head. "You don't have to worry about that. It won't happen, and you know it. If I could attend Oukan University with you next year, I would."

He paused for a moment when he saw a look of disappointment in Rizu's eyes. "Hey, don't be sad, Rizu! I'll try and keep in touch with you, even if it is through snail mail and instant messaging."

Rizu's face lit up with hope. "You promise?"

"I promise."

Robu felt himself being pulled into a hug for the second time that night. He smiled with a soft chuckle and said, "I'm gonna miss you, you know?"

"Yeah," said Rizu. "I'll miss you too."

They said their last goodbyes for the next nine months and parted ways for their new journey—hers, the second year of university, and his, the final year of high school. But on the drive home with Po-ra sleeping in the passenger seat, Rizu could not get Robu's strange prediction out of her head. _I wonder what he meant by that,_ she wondered.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The Promise of a New Year –

Rizu and Beronika Meet!

Two days after Robu's departure, Rizu received an envelope in her mailbox from Oukan University concerning her roommate Beronika Hoshino. The girl was from Koganei, a city of Western Tokyo, and was transferring to Oukan for a degree in dance. She was only twenty years old and would be celebrating her twenty-first birthday around the middle of March.

_Great_, thought Rizu. _I'll still be too young to go out for a drink or two for her birthday._

She debated about calling Beronika, but she quickly decided against it after taking the possibility of her new roommate working a summer job into consideration and resorted to emailing her instead. She was relieved when she saw Beronika's email in her inbox the very next morning with a question about the school's protocol on their move-in day but what really troubled her was the fact that Beronika failed to mention anything about herself. She could not tell much about the girl from the tone of the message, and she started to wonder if she was going to face the same issues from last year. _I guess we'll just have to wait and see what Beronika's really like._

Nearly two weeks later, Rizu and her parents, her mother Sherona and her father Roderikku, made the two-hour trip to Oukan University in separate vehicles. Although she was mad that she could not leave her convertible behind her residence complex because of seniority rights, she was somewhat relieved to hear that she could still park it on Oukan University soil but in the parking lot outside the American football stadium. She prayed on the way to the school that no one would slash the roof and steal something valuable, but she had a feeling that her car would be safe no matter what. There was nothing inside that was worth a lot of money. She did not have a fancy stereo system or a stylish interior design like most university students. All she had was a radio with a cassette player, and cassette players were no longer objects of desire.

The trip was only seventy-five miles long from her driveway to the back lot of her complex, and both drivers—Rizu in her car with her mother and her father alone in his jeep—took shortcuts in order to avoid the traffic on the freeways through the neighboring cities. The city of Oukan was located on the outskirts of Western Tokyo and practically on the other side of Koganei. As they drove through the northern portion of Oukan, Rizu noticed that the city was coming back to life with all the students returning from their summer vacation.

"Look at what they've done here, Erizabesu!" exclaimed Sherona.

From behind the windshield, Rizu saw that the main strip of Oukan University had undergone a period of construction during her absence. Bricks and walkways were inserted into the asphalt of the long road, and the old, cracked sidewalks were replaced with brick paths. Small trees and giant potted plants were placed in the median strips, and the road near the bell tower was split in half to direct traffic around the tall structure. Along the sidewalks were drop-off curbs for the campus shuttles and the city buses that drove through the university, with several outdoor benches for students to sit while waiting for a ride.

"Mama, it's pretty!" she breathed.

"I hear that Oukan University is trying to be more unified and attractive like the other universities in Japan," added Sherona. "This is a new way to gain prospective students' attention. It is better to have a beautiful campus than a run-down one."

"I wouldn't blame them," said Rizu.

"Now, pay attention to where you need to go, Erizabesu."

"I am, Mama."

"Good. There will be a security guard directing you where to park when we get to your hall, and if he says only one car per family at a time, we'll need to get your stuff out of the car and into your room quickly so you can park it at the stadium," instructed Sherona.

"I know!" groaned Rizu tiredly. "We've been through this before! This is nothing new!"

"But you didn't have your car here last year! It was at home because we thought it would be pointless for you to park away from campus!"

"Yes, Mama, but even if I wanted to park at my dorm, I would still have to leave this car at the stadium before I can have that privilege."

"True, very true indeed. At least you'll be a junior next year, and you should be behind the dorm."

"Or so I hope."

Just as Sherona had predicted, there was a security guard directing the traffic flow in the residence hall parking lot. As soon as he saw Rizu's car pulling up beside him, he leaned down to her open window and asked, "Miss, do you know you can't park your car here tonight?"

"Yes, sir," answered Rizu, ducking her head.

He looked into the car and added, "I assume there's another car from your family that's carrying the rest of your luggage."

"My papa. He's behind me."

"Well," the guard sighed as he lowered his sunglasses toward the tip of his nose, "I will give you a thirty-minute limit to pull over and unload here since we need enough parking spaces for everyone. If your car has not been moved to the stadium after your thirty minutes are up, I will call Parking Services to make a request for a tow truck and cite you for illegal parking. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. It shouldn't take too long."

"It better not. You be careful and enjoy your move-in."

The guard then directed her to a spot near the tree at the small basketball court. Roderikku parked in the spot next to her car, and the family immediately tracked down a student from the opening committee to help load all of her personal belongings onto a flat bed cart. The adults carried the bed sheets, the comforter and the carry-on bag that had her vital toiletries while she carried her suitcase that was full of her early fall semester clothes, her computer bag for her laptop, her one-strap messenger bag that she used for back-to-back classes, and a black school briefcase for her other classes.

Once they entered the foyer past the rear entrance, Rizu went to the giant social lounge outside her residence hall to check in with the assistant hall director. With her old room key in her hands moments later, she took the elevator with her parents and the girl from the opening committee to the third floor of the complex. Riding the elevators was something that most students loved to do on move-in and move-out days, for it was usually prohibited without prior permission during the school year.

The opening committed member with the Hikarinos was a fellow sophomore named Nozomi. She lived on Rizu's floor the previous school year, and she would be a few doors down the hall that semester. "Living in the same room again?" she asked as they walked down the main stretch of the third floor.

Rizu nodded. "Yeah. I wonder if my new roommate is here yet."

"I don't think so. I just helped Merissa move into her room across from yours, and no one was in your room. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Merissa paired up with your old roommate this year."

"That's what she told me."

"And I'd room with you except I'm with Kurea for this semester."

"This semester? What do you mean by that?" asked Rizu.

"You didn't hear? I'll be transferring during Christmas vacation. I'm going to go to university with my beloved Danieru."

Nozomi looked at Rizu's sad smile and added apologetically, "I'm sorry that you weren't able to find a roommate before the summer, Rizu. I know it must have been hard for you since you don't have many friends here."

Rizu grimaced with a heavy sigh. "It's okay," she replied. "I'm just glad Micchi didn't put me with a freshman this year."

"What's wrong with freshmen, Rizu?" asked Nozomi playfully. "Remember, we were freshmen last year!"

"I know, but I don't want to be in charge of taking care of them."

"Who doesn't? So, who do you have this year?"

"Some transfer student."

"And why would a transfer student be any different from a freshman?"

"Easy," answered Rizu matter-of-factly. "Transfer students are familiar with the university life, whereas freshmen are scared to death about being away from home. I just refuse to act like the mother hen, you know?"

"And where exactly does this transfer student stand in the ranks?"

Rizu pursed her lips together and muttered, "She's a junior."

Nozomi smirked. "I seriously doubt you'll be the one playing the mother hen. If anything, _you'll_ be the one getting schooled."

"Yeah, well, let's hope my new roommate is nowhere near Merissa's," snorted Rizu.

"She's not all that bad!" said Nozomi defensively.

"I know, but her personality stinks."

"Only because she comes from a different caste? Understandable. Rich people tend to be snobs."

"But how come _you_ can stand her? We're very much alike, Nozomi!"

"Because I can relate to her loss of her papa," replied Nozomi quietly. "Losing my papa was the worst thing that could happen to me, and I can see the lonely girl inside her through all those rough layers. She didn't mean to hurt you or anything, Rizu, but she just couldn't connect with you. Why do you think she hung around with me and Merissa all last year?"

"And after all this time, I thought it was because of my introversion," said Rizu.

"That did play a big part," confessed Nozomi as she came to a halt, "but her papa's death was something that was out of your control. Now unless you've just experienced something similar to it, you'll always be detached from our group. I'm sorry, Rizu, but I hope you can understand our reasoning."

"I do," said Rizu guiltily. "Thanks for your help."

"It's nothing. I'm just doing my job."

They stood outside of Rizu's old room, Room 306, and the second-year tenant unlocked the door that led to the sparsely furnished room of her familiar habitat. "Home sweet home," murmured Rizu.

Sherona walked over to the dresser past the walk-in closets and swiped the top layer of dust with her right index finger. "Your home may be sweet, but it sure needs some dusting!" she muttered. "This dust must be three months old by now!"

That was one thing that Sherona hated the most—unclean rooms with dust lying about everywhere. And Rizu's room, at both home and school, always ended up just like that.

With the help of Nozomi, Rizu and her parents were able to unload the cart just in time. Rizu's thirty-minute limit had expired as she was walking to her car from picking up her parking pass at the Parking Services office in the Student Center.

"We're sorry you couldn't get a spot near your dorm, sweetie," said Roderikku a short time later after Rizu had parked her convertible on the paved half of the stadium parking lot. "There's always next year."

"I know, Papa," said Rizu softly. "I'm just worried about leaving my car out there when I live so far away."

"And you do know about moving your car the night before every home football game, right?" asked Sherona.

"Yes, Mama!"

"Just wanting to make sure you were aware since you tend to space out on so many things."

"Don't remind me!" sighed Rizu, grimacing at her mother's jab.

Roderikku drove to the Village, a small business district to the southeast of Oukan University, where Rizu had to pick up her books and her sophomore star pin for her school uniform. She already had the essentials to her classroom attire since her first year—a white button-up blouse with a red-threaded crest of the school's emblem over the left pocket, a red plaid knee-length skirt, a red necktie, a pair of red knee-high socks, and the school's official black overcoat for both the cooler days and the winter season—and while the entire wardrobe cost just as much as her books, she was very relieved to know that she would not have to buy a new school uniform again as long as she kept a close eye on her daily intake of food.

As she looked for her English books in one of the two bookstores, she accidentally bumped into another female student when she turned the corner. "Oops! I'm so sorry!" she apologized once she realized she had knocked a few books out of the girl's hands.

"It's okay," said the brunette, bending down to retrieve the fallen books. She brushed back a strand her medium-length hair from her brown eyes and let out a small laugh. "It's really my fault. I guess need to pay attention to where I'm going. I'm already being such a klutz on my first day, and I haven't even moved into my dorm yet!"

"Are you new here?"

"Yes. I'm actually a transfer student."

Rizu looked at the uniform bag the girl was carrying in her right hand. The new student was at the junior level. She had three star pins as proof of her class status, but unlike Rizu's two gold stars, hers were in silver because of a previous enrollment at another school. "Where did you attend as a freshman?" asked Rizu.

"Temple University of Japan in Azabu," replied the girl. "It's actually an American-based school, but it did have a great dance department up until I heard about Oukan."

"You what?" asked Rizu in disbelief, knowing just how popular and distinguished the dance department at Temple University was throughout the country. "Are you crazy? Why did you transfer?

"I just wanted to be closer to home," the transfer student shrugged. "My family lives in Koganei, so that's why I picked Oukan. But I have to say that while I was dancing competitively for Temple, Oukan's dance squad was amazing! I heard you guys offer a variety of dance courses, and I practically took all that Temple had."

"And you picked Oukan out of all schools?"

"I want to expand my horizons."

"I see," said Rizu. "You must be living in the dorms, huh?"

"That's right," answered the brunette. "I can't wait to meet my roommate. I just hope she's better than the ones I had before. My old roommates didn't stay an entire year!"

"Bad experience?"

"Not really. We just couldn't connect."

"I see. So, who's your roommate here?" asked Rizu.

"I believe her name is Erizabesu Hikarino, but she prefers to go by Rizu. Do you know her?"

Rizu felt her eyes widened, and she froze with a mixed expression of shock and excitement on her face. _Tell me I'm dreaming! Tell me I'm dreaming!_ she thought.

She had just met Beronika Hoshino, her roommate for the new school year.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Knowing Me, Knowing You –

Settling in and a Reunion!

Rizu unlocked the door to her room and showed the Hoshino family the space that she was going to share with Beronika for nine months. "There's really not much to it," she said with a hint of uncertainty, feeling slightly unsure of her new roommate's first impression.

"Not as nice as the one I had at Temple, that's for sure," agreed Beronika. "I just find it funny that a wooden tabletop with two sets of file cabinets could be made into a desk."

"Yeah, but you can take off the tabletop and get your own desk. They're pretty inexpensive."

"Maybe we should invest in them if we don't like this arrangement."

"Maybe."

Rizu soon felt her cell phone vibrate in her pants pocket. She sighed, knowing it was her parents wanting to help her unpack. "Great, I'm being paged by the parents. I'm afraid they need me," she told the Hoshinos.

"When will you be back, Rizu?" asked Mrs. Hoshino.

"I'm just going downstairs to escort them. My parents want to help, and we need to get the refrigerator going as soon as my papa gets up here."

Rizu dashed down the two flights of stairs and met her parents in the social lounge on the first floor. "I take it you found a place to park?" she inquired.

"Yeah, and I think these belong to you," said Roderikku, giving his daughter the heavy box of books in his arms and letting out a heavy sigh of embarrassment as he watched her go limp from the weight in her hands. "Next time, make sure you get _everything_ out of the jeep!"

"I was hoping you'd carry these for me!"

"I'm old with a bad back; you're young with good knees. Just remember your mama and I are paying part of your schooling."

"Enough, you two! We need to get done and out of here before we lose the SUV and Po-ra starts calling us because we're running late," scolded Sherona.

"You didn't park in the back?" asked Rizu.

"All the spots were taken up, and I didn't feel like walking that far. We're only in front of your building. Now, let's move it before I get a ticket for time expiration on the parking meter."

"Yes, Mama," said Rizu as she began to walk back to her room, whining all the while about the great weight of the books. "This is so heavy! I might have good knees, but I don't have muscles!"

"It's not our fault you don't lift heavy things around the house," chided Sherona.

"That's because I don't want to have a bad back like Papa!"

"I heard that," growled Roderikku. "Be thankful you live very close to the staircase."

He held the door open for Rizu as she wobbled back inside the little room where Beronika had begun to unpack her clothes. "Oh! Do you need help?" she asked.

"Just tell me where my bed is so I can drop this shitload of books!" groaned Rizu.

Beronika pointed at the lone bed with a thin cotton sheet over the green mattress and took a step backward as she watched Rizu set the box down and collapse over. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," replied Rizu, panting loudly to catch her breath. "I just need to start lifting some weights this semester so I don't have to go through this again!"

Within minutes, the room was full of their favorite dorm possessions. Roderikku set up the small home entertainment system in Rizu's closet, Mr. Hoshino helped assemble the loft with Beronika's bed going the opposite direction above Rizu's. and the two girls filled their bookshelves with textbooks, novels, games, and movies. Everything was tidy and cozy to their liking.

"Beronika, we were wondering if you and your family would like to go out to lunch with us," said Sherona after the two men had cleaned up their mess. "Maybe we can get to know you a little better."

"Well, my wife and I would like to, but we need to get back to Koganei as soon as possible," replied Mr. Hoshino. "Beronika's brothers will be done with their dance workshops, and we plan to be back before then. But we're certain that Beronika would be more than glad to join you."

"I don't mind at all," said Beronika, "but I don't have any money."

"We'll cover your cost," said Rizu.

Beronika's face lit up, and she immediately accepted the offer. "Sounds great!"

After her parents bid her farewell and a safe semester, Beronika hopped into Roderikku's jeep with the Hikarinos and drove to Sukoti's in the Village, Sukoti's was a local American-style bar and grille that was becoming popular in other universities that accepted the influences of the Western world. Beronika had never been to the establishment in Azabu during her two years at Temple, but she thought that if Rizu liked it, then she most likely would.

She began to marvel the moment she entered the front door. Every space on the wall was covered in pennants from Oukan and its rival universities, articles and pictures of Oukan's successful sport teams, and neon signs promoting the few alcohol companies in Japan as well as the many popular imports from the United States.

The hostess at the front counter led them to a corner table near the back, which was already set with a small pastel plate at each place setting and a small blue dishtowel rolled up with silverware in the center of the plates. The chairs were rather high, being intentionally designed to be stools.

"Wow, this place is really great!" said Beronika in amazement, taking the stool next to Rizu. "The staff here is so nice, and they already got some water waiting for us!"

"It is," agreed Rizu before she took a small sip from her glass, "and they have the best burgers in the Village."

"How would you know, Erizabesu? You only eat plain burgers!" teased her father.

"Some people just don't like condiments, Papa!" said Rizu haughtily as she looked through the menu. "Of course, I just might have to get that plain burger again. It looks so delicious!"

"I'd say the fried carp basket looks even better," said Sherona. "What about you, dear?"

"Make that two fried carp baskets," said Roderikku. "It's such a shame that they don't have steak."

"What are you thinking about, Beronika?" asked Rizu.

"I'll go with the deluxe burger minus the cheese," replied Beronika.

"Hate cheese slices too?"

"It's more than just hate. I'm lactose-intolerant."

Rizu arched an eyebrow in confusion. "Meaning?"

"I can't have milk."

"Do you have like a huge allergic reaction or something?"

"You could say that. Milk and I don't get along, which sucks when people ask me if I want to go get some ice cream with them," frowned Beronika.

"So you can't have any milk products at all?" asked Sherona.

"I can have soy milk, and I can have pizza along as I put enough toppings to break down the cheese when I digest it. That's pretty much about it."

Beronika looked at her roommate, who was wearing a look of disgust on her face, and laughed. "I take it that you've tried soy milk before."

"And soy burgers! Yuck!" grimaced Rizu. "I love to have my regular chocolate and white milk. As far as burgers are concerned, I love them on the grill or heated in the microwave like the ones at the McDonald's in Tokyo. No soy for me whatsoever!"

"I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me."

"When did you find out you couldn't have milk?"

"When I was eight or nine," answered Beronika with a ghost of a frown. "I used to love milk, and now I miss it."

"You know, Rizu used to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with macaroni and cheese until she was about two years old," said Sherona. "That was when we found out that she was deathly allergic to all nuts. As for the macaroni and cheese, she became less tolerant of it and a lot of cheese products. But for some reason, she loves to cover her noodles with Parmesan cheese, and she loves pizza!"

"And she doesn't like to have any condiments on her burgers," added Roderikku.

"Mama! Papa! Stop embarrassing me!" whined Rizu.

"Actually, Rizu, I'm glad they're informing me of your allergies," said Beronika. "I don't want anything happen to you if I were to give you something that you couldn't have."

"Did we not mention that Rizu eats her cereal dry? She hates to have soggy cereal in the morning!" said Sherona.

Rizu buried her red face in her hands and groaned. "Mama…"

"Oh, look! Here comes our waitress!" said Beronika with a sigh in relief.

An eighteen-year-old girl with long curly red hair in a messy ponytail walked up to the table as she began to introduce herself to the group. "_Konnichi wa!_ My name is Raura, and I'll be your waitress today. Would you like to try our Welcome Back Special? It's two drinks for the price of one."

"I know one of these girls can't have the special, but we will," replied Sherona, pointing at Roderikku and herself.

"Okay, then. What would you two like to drink?"

"Two glasses of your best sake."

"And your lunch?"

"Two carp baskets with a side of fried potato wedges."

Raura quickly wrote down the adults' orders and then proceeded to ask Beronika and Rizu for theirs. "And what about you two ladies?"

"I'll have the deluxe burger combo with a side of fried potato wedges too—hold the cheese on the burger, please—and a glass of water," said Beronika.

"Alright. And you, miss?"

"I'll have a plain burger with fried potato wedges and a chocolate milkshake," said Rizu.

"… And a chocolate milkshake," Raura repeated as she finished writing down Rizu's order on her small notepad. "Okay! I'll take your menus, and your lunches should be here within twenty minutes. And if you two girls are attending Oukan University, you should go to the Welcome Back Weekend Party at the Student Center tonight at nine. I heard it's going to be great! I'm going with a few friends after work, and I hope to see you there!"

As soon as Raura received their menus, Beronika glanced at her figure as the redhead walked away. "She must be in the dance department," she remarked.

"How would you know that?" asked Rizu.

"She was very graceful in her delivery vocally and physically, and she looks like she could have been a dancer at one time."

"Maybe you'll see her around if she is one."

"Maybe," shrugged Beronika.

Turning to Rizu, she then asked, "Are you thinking about going to the party tonight?"

"You bet I am!" replied Rizu. "I've been to one of those Weekend Parties, and they're fun! You'll love it! Everything is free as long as you're a student here."

"Like what?"

"Karaoke, bowling, billiards, food and soda, movies, crafts, the occasional foam dance parties in the ballroom, and even some video games. I heard they're doing this virtual dance game tournament for the first time at the Weekend Party tonight. I bet you're good at it."

"You better believe it!" said Beronika with a voice full of confidence. "I did a lot of those dance-offs at Temple, and I either won or took runner-up every time."

"I'm pretty sure you'll win tonight," said Rizu with a small smile.

"Are you going to compete?"

"Maybe. I'm not all that great of a dancer."

"Come on!" snorted Beronika. "You can't be _that_ bad!"

After a filling and delightful lunch, Rizu gave her parents a hug and wished them a safe trip home. "I promise I'll study hard this semester, and I'll do my best," she said.

"That's all we ask of you," said Roderikku.

"We love you, and we want you to enjoy university as much as possible," added Sherona.

"Thanks, Mama. I'll miss you."

"And we'll miss you, too. Call us tomorrow when you have time, okay?"

"Sure thing," grinned Rizu as she waved her parents goodbye.

As soon as the white jeep had disappeared past the all-women's complex on the other side of the parking lot, she walked back to her residence hall and climbed up the two flights of stairs to the third floor. She noticed when she walked into her room that Beronika was trying to make her bed on the loft. "Having fun up there?" she asked as she closed the heavy tan door behind her.

"Yeah, although I've bumped my head on the ceiling a few times," replied Beronika, rubbing the back of her head to prove her point. "Thanks for taking me out for lunch. You picked a great place to eat."

"It was nothing. We thought that since you're new to the area, you might enjoy what the Village has to offer."

"We'll definitely have to try Sukoti's again sometime soon. The deluxe burger was so addicting, but it's so costly!"

They were suddenly startled by a knock on the door, which caused Beronika to bang her head on the ceiling once again. "Ow!" she groaned.

Rizu opened the door and found a man in his mid-twenties dressed in a pair of slacks and a dress shirt. "Erizabesu and Beronika?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's us," replied Rizu, bowing slightly.

"It's great to see the two of you! I'm Micchi, your hall director," he said, bowing politely to her. "Are you two settling in just fine?"

Beronika nodded her head as she climbed down the steps at the end of the loft. "You just missed Rizu's parents. Mine left a while ago."

"Well, that's a shame! I wanted to get to know them a little bit! But who am I kidding? You're the ones I want to learn more about! You're my residents, not them! Anyway, are you ladies going to the Welcome Back Weekend Party?"

"Yeah, we heard about it," answered Rizu. "Are you going?"

"No! Hall directors have a life of their own," said Micchi with a playful chuckle. "Mine includes a wife in our apartment downstairs."

"Are you newlyweds?"

"Not really. We've been married for a few years."

"Do you have kids, or are you not allowed to have one?" asked Beronika.

"Oh, we can have kids in the apartment! We're still working on that. Beki's been wanting children for a while. Maybe it'll happen before the semester is over."

From the corner of his right eye, Micchi noticed another student moving into her room a few doors down the hall, and he knew that he would have to introduce himself to her before one of his resident assistances started paging him on his small radio for an emergency. "Well, I have to do my rounds. You ladies have a great time tonight at the party! I'll see you later!"

"Bye, Micchi!" said Rizu and Beronika, closing the door behind him and sighing in relief. The one thing that scared them the most during their conversation with their hall director was the fact that he was wearing a hot pink men's dress shirt and a pair of deep purple slacks.

"I hope he doesn't wear that around the office or the house," groaned Beronika.

"I hope so too," said Rizu, grimacing at the thought of being around a straight yet flamboyant man who was responsible for their complex.

The Welcome Back Weekend Party at the Kyou Oukan Student Center was packed with mostly freshmen, but there were also many returning students as well. At exactly nine o'clock, the line for wristbands ended past the doors on the east side of the building and just over twenty yards from the entrance off to the side. Many students were excited about the campus party, despite the fact that there would be no alcohol involved.

Unfortunately for Rizu and Beronika, they arrived just as the party began to kick off for the night and there was still a long line. "How long does it normally take for the line to wind down?" asked Beronika.

"It depends on what time you get here and what the theme for the weekend's event is," replied Rizu. "Tonight is more or less of a reunion for the returning students, so who knows how much longer we have to wait."

"Oh, okay. I can't wait to meet some of your friends from last year!"

Rizu cringed at the thought and let out a nervous laugh. "Maybe you will, and maybe you won't."

Beronika looked at her in bewilderment. "Are you telling me that you didn't have any friends here?" she asked.

"Well, you see—"

"Hey, Rizu!"

Rizu was startled by a masculine surfer's voice. She looked around for its owner until her brown eyes met a pair of hazel orbs with a tint of blue. Walking over to them was a young man, about Beronika's age, with shaggy black hair right above his broad shoulders and a patch of facial hair under his chin. He was about the same height as Robu, standing proudly at a whopping six-foot-three, and shared the same body build as Rizu's best friend.

Secretly, Rizu liked him as much as she liked Robu, except this young man in particular was a better choice of a future son-in-law than Robu would ever be in the eyes of her parents, or at least in the eyes of Sherona. He was well-educated, faithful, but most of all, a _kurisuchan._

She met him at the start of her second semester in a psychology course for those who were going to be junior and senior high school teachers, and she was instantly attracted to him like a moth to a flame. After having lunch with him one day, she discovered that he was single and that he loved Iesu with all his heart.

He was the perfect candidate for an ideal boyfriend.

"Hey, Jeison!" exclaimed Rizu as she rushed up to the tall stranger and gave him a hug. "I'm so sorry I didn't get to talk to you much this summer!"

"It's okay, Rizu. I know you were busy with your job," replied Jeison Ankokuno before his warm attitude quickly turned grim with disappointment. "I'm sure you heard the news about my short-lived summer romance."

"Yeah, I sure did. That's got to suck."

"Boy, did it ever! She was gorgeous and amazing…"

Jeison looked up to see Beronika still standing silently next to her roommate. As soon as they made eye contact, he froze in place and his jaw dropped. Although he had known Rizu for just a few months, he knew that she rarely associated herself with someone so stunning and so elegant like Beronika.

"So, tell me," he began smoothly, winking at Rizu and nudging her with his right elbow, "who's the lady friend with you tonight? She's very pretty!"

_Great,_ thought Rizu as her chances of getting with her crush were suddenly shattered into tiny pieces. _He moves from one girl onto the next! And it has to be Beronika of all people!_ "Jeison, I'd like you to meet my roommate, Beronika Hoshino. Beronika, this is my classmate Jeison Ankokuno," she replied sullenly.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you, Miss Hoshino," said Jeison in his most gentleman-like voice, taking Beronika's right hand and placing a soft kiss just above her knuckles.

"Um, yeah. The, err, same to you," said Beronika hesitantly, unable to hide the blush that was glowing on her cheeks.

Rizu pinched the bridge of her nose in embarrassment with a shake of her head. While she was having lunch with Beronika that afternoon at Sukoti's, her roommate had briefly mentioned that she was in a serious relationship with a boy she had met at Temple, and she knew that Jeison was treading on thin ice with the dancer. "He shouldn't be doing that," she muttered.

"Besides coming to the party tonight, do you have any plans?" asked Jeison as he wrapped an arm around Beronika's waist. "I would be more than glad to show you the greatest parts of the city, especially where I'm from on the other side of the tracks in downtown."

Doing all that she could from snapping at him for hitting on her, Beronika cleared her throat and replied coolly yet firmly, "I'm sorry, Jeison, but I don't intend to stay out very late tonight. I'm expecting a phone call from my boyfriend when this party is over, and I doubt he'd like the idea of me being alone with another guy."

Feeling his face turn beet red, Jeison quickly retreated behind Rizu for protection. "Say it's not so, Rizu! Does she really have a guy?" he asked.

"It's so," replied Rizu, mentally sniggering to herself. "I didn't exactly have time to tell you beforehand."

"Not a problem," said Jeison before he flashed a quick small smile at Beronika. "If you're happy with him, it's cool with me," he added.

Rizu looked at her dark-haired friend and knew the smile on his face was a fake. She knew he was the kind of guy who did not take rejection well, especially from attractive women like Beronika. He had been a victim of the "nice guys finish last" cliché on numerous occasions after many of his ex-girlfriends found him to be more like a friend or an older brother than a boyfriend.

Suddenly, she heard his cell phone ring and watched as he answered the call. "Hey, Megu! Yeah, I'm over here toward the back of the line."

_Megu,_ thought Rizu suspiciously. _She can't be a girl he's interested in too, He's too good to go after Beronika and then chase another girl in a matter of minutes. I wonder who this Megu could be._

"I'll see you in a few!" Jeison closed his cell phone and said to Rizu, "Save my spot, Rizu. I'm gonna get someone that I know you would love to meet!"

As Jeison ran off toward the direction of the parking garage structure behind the Student Center, Beronika let out a great sigh of relief. "I'm so glad Buraian was not here!" she exclaimed.

"I can't believe Jeison pulled that stunt in the first place!" said Rizu.

"I know, but I truly feel bad for him. I mean he never knew I was taken!"

"That's partly my fault for not telling him in the first place, B. I honestly didn't expect that to happen."

"It's okay. I wasn't expecting him to drop you all of a sudden and then get tangled with me for a moment," said Beronika with a soft smile. "I bet you were quite embarrassed."

"Mortified would be a better word."

"But I can tell you also like him," teased Beronika with a giggle.

Rizu quickly felt her face flush. "A little?" she squeaked.

"He seems to be a great guy. I'm sure you'd be a good girlfriend to him."

"You think so?" asked Rizu.

Beronika shrugged her shoulders in reply. "It's worth a shot. As long as I'm dating Buraian, he should know the boundaries."

A few minutes later, Jeison returned with a girl who was several inches shorter than Rizu and skinny, with a short ponytail full of thin red hair. She had a pair of dark brown eyes just like Rizu and Beronika, and her face was covered with freckles across the bridge of her nose.

"Ladies, this is my best friend Megu Hino. Megu, this is Rizu Hikarino and Beronika Hoshino," said Jeison.

"Nice to meet you!" grinned Megu with a perky tone in her voice as she gave the two girls a peace sign rather than a formal bow. "So, how do you two know Jeison?"

"Well, I was in a psychology class with him last semester," replied Rizu. She jerked her thumb at Beronika and then added, "And he just met her tonight."

"That's cool! It's a pleasure to meet you two!"

"Likewise."

"So, what did you girls have in mind tonight?" asked Jeison.

As much as she liked Jeison, Beronika tried everything she could to get away from his advances, but whenever there was an activity or a game that required partners, he picked her over Rizu and Megu every time. The four students did one game of bowling, in which Rizu barely won with Jeison trailing not too far behind her, and a round of double billiards. Unfortunately for Rizu and Megu, the Ankokuno-Hoshino team won 5-0 with Jeison being the top scorer of the group.

In the multi-purpose room, they played a trivia board game that was based on their generation, but Jeison knew every question that was on the cards and won the game without letting Beronika answer a single question. Embarrassed by her former classmate, Rizu gave her roommate an apologetic look several times from the opposite side of the table.

Before the night was over, Beronika finally had her chance to put Jeison in his place. Just as the quartet walked through the hotel lobby on the first floor of the Student Center, Megu said, "There's that virtual dance game everyone wanted to try out tonight!"

It was the latest edition of the virtual dance game series, and it had drawn quite a crowd when they passed it the first time. By midnight, the line had grown smaller, and it gave them the opportunity to try the game out for once.

"Lovely," muttered Rizu. "If you three want to do this thing, be my guest."

"Come on, Rizu!" pleaded Beronika. "It won't be any fun if we can't do a little tournament of our own!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was hoping we all could dance one round and then have the winners dance against each other in the final stage."

"But Beronika, you know I'm not good at this stuff!"

Beronika took a quick look at Jeison and then leaned down to Rizu's left ear. "If you want to really impress a guy, you have to break out from your insecurities," she whispered.

"Fine! I'll do it!" growled Rizu as she watched the two students in front of the big-screen television take their leave. "But you have to promise me one thing!"

"What's that?"

"I get to challenge Jeison!"

"No way!" protested Jeison. "I challenge Beronika!"

Beronika shook her head. "I'll let you go against Rizu this time, Jeison. Megu and I will try this out together in the next stage."

"Sounds fair to me," said Megu. "But let me warn you, Rizu: Jeison is really good at this game."

"Thanks for the warning," muttered Rizu.

She took her spot next to Jeison on the dance mats and selected her difficulty. Jeison, who chose "Advanced" for his settings, raised a dark eyebrow when he noticed that his challenger had selected "Beginner." "Have you ever played this game before?" he asked.

"Not at all. I don't think I'm any good at it," replied Rizu with hint of uncertainty and self-doubt in her voice.

_Perfect,_ thought Jeison. _I'll be able to go up against Beronika if Rizu is truly _this_ bad!_

Once they came to an agreement with their choice of dance music, they waited until they saw green arrows rolling toward the top of the screen and began to move their feet to the beat of the song with the arrows as their guide. At first, Rizu thought she was doing fairly decent, but when she glanced over at Jeison's score, she nearly died on the spot from shock.

Jeison was up to fifty-seven combos with a score of over two million points, and she was only sitting at thirty-one combos and a little over one million points!

"What?" exclaimed Rizu. "How the hell do you do that?"

"I have this game at home," Jeison replied, not moving his eyes off the screen. "I practice every day as part of my morning workout before class."

"Shit!"

Rizu tried to focus her attention on the game, but after seeing Jeison's incredible score, she was now more concerned about how she was going to get into the lead. She began to speed up her movements, becoming out of sync with the song and losing control of concentration.

"Rizu, slow down!" called Beronika. "You're going to—"

But it was too late. Rizu fell down hard on her mat, which resulted in a big "FAILED!" on her half of the screen. "That hurts!" she groaned.

She looked at Jeison and felt her face turned a deep shade of red. _Oh shit,_ she thought. _I'm never going to live this one down. What a way to make an ass out of yourself in front of a guy you like, Rizu!_

Jeison raised his eyebrow and shook his dark head. "I didn't think you'd do that badly, Rizu," he said with a chuckle. "I really thought you'd give me more a run than that."

"Sorry," muttered Rizu.

"Okay! It's our turn!" said Megu, pushing Rizu out of the way.

She took Rizu's spot while Beronika swapped places with Jeison They both selected "Medium" for their level of difficulty and a fast upbeat club song that was popular years ago. When the music began and the arrows appeared on the screen from the bottom, the two girls began to dance extremely fast. Both of them were consistent with their speed and their scores until Megu began to have a little bit of trouble.

She tripped over her left foot and landed with a loud thud on the mat. She groaned as "FAILED!" appeared on the television screen in green neon letters. "Why am I such a klutz at this game?" she whined.

Beronika helped her onto her feet and asked, "Are you sure you're not hurt? That was a big fall."

"I'll be fine," replied Megu, taking the empty seat next to Rizu along the wall to watch the final stage with Beronika and Jeison.

Jeison selected "Advanced" while Beronika made her selection. She also chose "Advanced," which prompted another raised eyebrow from Jeison.

"Are you sure you want to do that hard of a level?" he asked.

"I think I can handle it."

"Alright. Suit yourself."

Rizu could tell Jeison thought that was going to be another easy win as they made their song selection. _After seeing how good Beronika was against Megu, I'm not sure if this is a good idea,_ she thought. _She got lucky after Megu tripped over her feet, but Jeison is too good to let that happen to him. There's no way Beronika's gonna beat him!_

"Are you ready?" Beronika asked Jeison as the song started up.

"I think you need ask yourself that question, my dear," Jeison answered.

As soon as the arrows started to roll toward the top of the screen, both challengers began their dance-off. Rizu and Megu watched in interest, but they soon wore expressions of shock and surprise as their friends racked up combo points with every "Perfect!" and "Good!" they earned. "Twenty-five combos!" gasped Rizu moments later.

"Make that thirty!" corrected Megu.

The people who were standing behind them began to crowd around the dance-off area and murmured to each other. They knew who exactly Jeison was on campus—the first student to set the school record on the dance game the previous semester—but they were now wondering if he might have finally met his match.

The scores were well over seven million points, and both Beronika and Jeison had over two hundred combos on both sides of the screen. The game was so close and so intense on the players that they were seen breaking out into a heavy sweat, but the song was only halfway finished.

"Giving up?" teased Jeison as he looked at his challenger from the corner of his eye.

"Not yet!" replied Beronika, her face set with determination. "I'm far from giving up!"

Rizu and Megu soon noticed that the other students were blocking their view and pushed their way through the sea of bodies until they were finally in front of the spectators. Within minutes, the crowd grew bigger as more students came from the lower level of the Student Center to see what was happening. Some freshmen girls decided to take pictures of Beronika and Jeison on their cell phones while others, mainly those involved with the fraternity that Jeison sometimes hung out with, cheered and rooted for their surfer friend.

The song finally came to an end, and both challengers collapsed on the mats in exhaustion. The student running the activity nearly fainted when he saw the scores of the two players:

Player One (Jeison): 12,056,350 – 342 combos

Player Two (Beronika): 12,060,500 – 347 combos

"We have a new school record!" the student shouted, pushing his way through the crowd to congratulate Beronika onher performance. "You did very well, Miss, uh… What's your name?"

"Beronika. Beronika Hoshino," she answered.

"Congratulations, Miss Hoshino!"

Beronika turned back to her friends and quietly walked past the students who applauded her for such a stellar challenge against Jeison.

"That was pretty cool, Beronika!" commented Megu as the quartet walked out of the Student Center. "You deserved to win!"

"Hey, I thought you were my best friend!" whined Jeison.

"Oh, please shut up, Jeison! It was about time Beronika deserved some justice after what you did tonight!"

"What did I do?"

"You were all over Beronika no matter what we were doing, and I think she just got fed up with it! It's about time you learned your lesson, mister."

Jeison sighed in defeat and said glumly, "I guess you're right, Megu."

"When it comes to you, I'm _always_ right," she said with a satisfying smirk.

"And with that being settled, I think Beronika and I are going to retire for the night," said Rizu.

"So soon, Rizu?" asked Jeison. "The night is so young!"

"We really need to get back to our rooms," insisted Beronika, "and I'm pretty tired from playing against you."

"Alright. But we'll have to hang out again, okay?"

"Sure thing."

"And I'll give you my cell phone number if you give me yours," Jeison said, nudging and winking at Beronika playfully.

Angrily, Megu grabbed his right earlobe and yanked him down toward her face where they made direct eye contact with each other. "Leave her alone!" she hissed.

She dragged him by the arm and began to walk back to their cars in the parking garage. "I'll straighten him out before we meet again, girls!" she said. "Have a good night!"

"Bye, guys! Nice meeting you!" called Beronika.

She looked at Rizu with a smile on her face and giggled. "I did have a good time tonight," she confessed. "And your guy friend is quite a character."

"Jeison has always been like that whenever he meets a girl that he has a huge interest in," agreed Rizu, although there was some sadness in her voice.

The walk to their residence complex was eerily quiet until Beronika looked at her roommate and asked, "Hey, Rizu? Why you don't have friends on campus? I meant to ask you earlier."

Rizu sighed wearily and answered, "It's a long story. I never seem to have many friends no matter where I am. People know that I'm different, and I think it scares them."

"What makes you say that? You look pretty normal to me."

"So you say. I'm just into stuff that most people think to be strange or not cool. To be honest with you, I'm trying to find my place in this world. I never had much of a happy life growing up, and I hated it. Now that I'm a university student, I'm on a mission to discover myself, you know?"

Beronika nodded her head and replied, "I understand, Rizu. You do seem sad, but if it makes you feel any better, I'm not afraid of you. I think you're pretty awesome."

As they drew closer to their home, Beronika broke the awkward silence and asked, "Rizu, would you like to be my friend? I don't have a lot on campus right now, and I just want to fit in and have a good time."

Rizu smiled brightly with a nod. "Was there any doubt?"


	5. Chapter Four

**Author's Choice Song:** I would have picked "Bad Day" by Fuel, but I think Travis' "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" is a little bit more appropriate, don't you agree?

Chapter Four

A Guardian Angel on Earth – Geiburieru, Oukan University's New Librarian!

Over the course of the semester, Rizu and Beronika were becoming very close friends from the time they woke up for their classes to the time they called it a night. They attended the weekly hall council meetings downstairs in their complex's social lounge every Tuesday evening, went to dinner together to eat with several of Beronika's new friends from the Oukan University Swing Club, and spent every Saturday night at the Student Center for the Weekend Party with Jeison and Megu.

Since she was studying the art of dancing, Beronika had to participate in the annual senior showcase recital, an hour of choreography that was created by the seniors of her classes. She was handpicked for two pieces and devoted herself to at least two nights of rehearsal each week until the opening night. Several times, she would practice in front of Rizu in their room and asked for her opinion.

"Come on, B!" groaned Rizu. "You know I'm not a good judge in dancing."

"I know," said Beronika as she stretched out her body after practicing her routine for a half-hour, "but this will help me improve before I dance for you and my parents on opening night."

"Fine, but you already know my answer since I have given it to you every time you've asked me." Rizu smirked for a moment and then added, "You know, you could always get a man's opinion."

"Like whose?"

"Like Jeison's."

Beronika whirled around on her heels to face her roommate and put her hands on her hips, trying her best to look stern. "For the last time, Rizu, there is nothing going on with me and Jeison! You know that I have a boyfriend!"

"I know! I was just joking! Besides, he'd probably go after you once you have given him a marvelous performance with those smooth moves of yours."

"And Buraian will have his head on a silver platter if he touches me," said Beronika as she looked at her reflection and pulled her thick hair out of her ponytail. "Even if I was single, I would not date Jeison."

"Why's that?"

"He's more of your kind."

Rizu looked up from the textbook that she was reading and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Rizu, you know my feelings toward religion. I'm an agnostic."

Rizu nodded her head sadly in agreement. Every Sunday morning, she attended the campus church across the street with another girl on her floor, but whenever she returned to her room after the service, her roommate would either still be asleep or eating her brunch at her side of their shared desk.

It was not the fact that Beronika did not believe in Shinmei for a good reason, but she was never exposed to any particular religion. She grew up in a family of dancers, and they never had time for church because the children always had dance competitions on the weekends. As she grew older, Beronika started to view life and the world around her in a philosophical sense.

Jeison, on the other hand, was a devout _kurisuchan_ like Rizu and upheld his morals and beliefs to the best of his ability. Even though he had been seen hanging around a fraternity on the weekends, one of which he was thinking about joining during the pledge week the following year, he decided not to drink what the other men offered him until he was of age to consume the imported American alcohol the following semester. He was highly respected because of his faith, which could have possibly attracted Rizu to him in the first place.

Yet, he was bound and determined to make Beronika his if she ever decided to break up with her boyfriend.

Those were the days Rizu and Beronika lived through together each week, and those days became boring at a very fast rate. They also led to the fall semester midterms in October. Rizu was fortunate enough to have multiple-choice exams with the sole exception of her Art History class. Her professor assigned her classmates their assignment one Friday afternoon in late September with a detailed explanation on how he wanted it done.

"I want you to write me a research paper about any artist, movement or theory that we have covered or will cover by the end of the semester except for the last artist from your syllabus," he said. "There is a possibility of dropping that chapter because of our timeframe, and we are at least two days behind schedule. So, please ignore him.

"The paper should be a biography of the topic you desire to choose as well as a critique of popular paintings, sculptures, architecture, and such based on said topic. There must be citations in your paper of at least five sources, one of which can be from the Internet.

"There is also a minimum of five pages and a maximum of seven, _not_ including the cover page and the bibliography page. Please double-space and use twelve-point font. I do not care which font you use, but I want it to be legible in black ink. And do _not_ handwrite; you are to type the paper. You will turn in your assignment in hardcopy at the beginning of class, and do not send it through email unless there is an emergency. This paper is due three weeks from today, no later."

The entire lecture hall was filled with groans from many students except for one particular young woman. Sitting in the middle of the room, Rizu smirked to herself after deciding which artist she wanted to write her paper about.

Once the class had been dismissed for the afternoon, she walked out of the lecture hall and accidentally bumped into Jeison who was in the following section after hers. "I'm so sorry, Jeison! I didn't see you!" she said apologetically.

"It's okay, Rizu," said Jeison. "What's the lecture for the day?"

"More discussion about the Renaissance. And by the way, beware of the midterm he's going to give you."

"What is it?"

Rizu mentally sniggered for a moment, knowing that her friend was one of the biggest procrastinators in her little circle. _He is so not going to like this,_ she mused to herself. "A big paper about an artist, movement, or theory that is in your syllabus except for the last artist on the list. The professor will give you the same spiel that he gave to my class, but you still have three weeks to do it."

"Oh, don't worry, Rizu!" said Jeison. "I can get it all done in two days and still get away with it!"

"Jeison, you're missing the big point here: five to seven pages, double-spaced, and at least five sources with one from the Internet! There's no way you can blow it off until the last minute! The professor is being serious this time!"

Jeison sighed in defeat, grimacing at the thought of spending his free time at the library for another two weeks. "Are you absolutely sure?" he whined.

"Would I lie to you about academics?" asked Rizu.

"You do have a point," answered Jeison. "Fine! You can help me do my paper!"

Rizu rolled her eyes in disgust and began to walk away from him. "Forget it, Jeison. You're on your own this time. Don't come crying to me two days before the assignment is due!"

"But I was only kidding, Rizu!"

That following Monday morning, Rizu was fast asleep as the sun rose from the east. She was dreaming of a special time in her life as a child—her ninth birthday.

_"Happy birthday, Erizabesu!"_

_"Here's a gift from Papa and me. I know you've been waiting for this."_

_"Oh, cool, Mama! I finally got the _Sērā Senshi_ doll I've always wanted for a long time! Now my first edition collection is complete! Thanks, Mama! Thanks, Papa!"_

_"Now is not the time to play with your new gift, Erizabesu."_

_"Why not, Papa?"_

"Because you're late for class!"

The next thing Rizu knew, she was greeted with a hard yet fluffy object that had collided with her face. "Ow!" she whined, opening her eyes to see her roommate's white pillow in front of her.

She threw the pillow aside and glared at Beronika. "Why did you have to do that for, B?" she demanded.

"Did you not hear me, Rizu?" asked Beronika who was already dressed in her black leotard and peach tights. She began to put her hair into a tight bun and added, "Your alarm clock didn't go off, and you should have been heading to your Astronomy class by now!"

"What?" shrieked Rizu.

"You heard me. You're late."

"No! I can't believe it!"

She desperately grabbed her alarm clock and looked over her alarm settings. She had accidentally set it for 9:30 a.m., and the current time was 8:35.

"This is bad! This is very bad!" cried Rizu, kicking the hot pink sheets aside and tumbling out of the bed onto the floor.

Beronika sighed in embarrassment as she pulled up her school sweatpants over her tights. "Calm down, Rizu, before you hurt yourself!" she said.

But her roommate became a whirlwind of gold in the midst of her rush. Bedclothes were thrown in different directions of the room, books were tossed onto the bed, and hair was scattered everywhere as Rizu desperately tried to make herself presentable.

Within five minutes of running around like a chicken with her head cut off, Rizu was dressed in her clean yet wrinkly school uniform. Her hair pulled up into a messy ponytail with several oily curls hanging loose against her glasses.

She grabbed her silver laptop and shoved it down her bag behind her books for Astronomy 100 and English 302. Though her stomach was growling for food, she was certain that she would have enough time to eat a quick breakfast at the food court before it was time to switch over to lunch.

Grabbing a piece of mint-flavored chewing gum to make up the lack of brushing her teeth, Rizu slid her black one-strap messenger bag over her body and dropped her student identification card and her keys into the small outside pocket. "Okay, B, I'm off to class! I'll see you later!" she said as she rushed out of the room.

"Rizu, wait!" called Beronika.

She tried to catch the girl before she got to the staircase, but it was too late. Sighing to herself, she shook her head in disappointment and said aloud, "She forgot her umbrella, and it's pouring in buckets."

Rizu dashed down the two flights of stairs and bolted out of the doors of her residence hall, barely registering the voice of Micchi in her head when he greeted her from his office. "_Ohayo gozaimasu,_ Rizu!"

"Sorry, Micchi! I'd love to stay and talk, but I'm late for class!" she called back.

She ran out of her complex and headed toward the direction of her first class as the shower continued to fall in heavy spurts. "Oh, why did I have to forget my umbrella!" she whined, knowing she was unable to dodge the raindrops from the grey, cloudy sky.

As she continued her sprint past the all-women's residence complex and toward the school auditorium, she prayed to Shinmei that she would be able to cross the street in time at the intersection of the two busiest streets of Oukan University. By the time she arrived at the scramble light minutes later, she had just missed the thirty-second allotment for the students to cross in all directions—horizontally, vertically _and_ diagonally.

_This is just great,_ she thought with a scowl on her face. _What else could go wrong?_

She had forgotten she was standing near a dip in the curb that was overflowing with rainwater, and when a fraternity student drove his truck through the puddle at a fast speed, she mentally kicked herself for her mistake. "This is so not fair!" she muttered as muddy rainwater dripped from her hair and stained her white blouse.

Five minutes later, she walked into her Astronomy lecture hall, which was in the basement of the science building next to the planetarium, looking like what she would call a wet rat. Thankfully, the men in her class were too busy playing online gambling games on their laptops to notice the outline of her white bra as her shirt clung against her curves. Her ponytail was starting dry into a bushy wad behind her head, and she was fairly certain that she was going to be dealing with unwanted curls for the remainder of the morning.

She walked to her seat in the third row and looked at the clock in the back of the room. It was only a minute before nine o'clock, and her professor was not present. _Hopefully, he's cancelled class,_ she thought as she crossed her fingers. _Please say he did! Please say he did!_

As the minute hand moved to confirm the new hour, an older gentleman, who could have been mistaken for Santa Claus at the department stores during the Christmas season, entered the lecture hall and shut the wooden doors behind him with a loud bang. "_Ohayo gozaimasu,_ class! Pass your homework all the way to the left side of your aisle!" he said as his voice boomed throughout the room.

"Shit!" groaned Rizu from behind her laptop, realizing that she had forgotten to grab her assignment that was lying on top of her printer while she was rushing to get to class on time. "Could this day not get any worse?"

"I hope you all studied Chapter Seven over the weekend," added the professor with an evil, satisfying glint in his eyes, "because I have nice little pop quiz for you today!"

Rizu slumped further into her seat and cursed loudly, "Double shit!"

Just as she had imagined, Rizu failed her Astronomy pop quiz that morning. She walked out of the classroom with her head hanging in defeat as she trudged her way up the staircase and outside into the pouring rain. At that particular moment, she did not care if she walked into the food court with giant puddles behind her. Even if someone were telling her that the world was coming to an end, she would have cared less.

That Monday was the worst day of her university life. Nothing had gone right for her at all. Her breakfast took forever, a tad longer than usual, and she barely had time to order it, purchase it, and consume it before her English 302 class. She thought waffles sounded like a good idea, but she found herself standing in a long time of people who wanted eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and bacon. They all had the same idea as her—the desire of a hot breakfast. To make matters worse, the grille was understaffed, and it was the busiest period for the breakfast hour.

By the time she purchased her meal at the checkout lanes, she only had forty minutes left before she had to go to English Composition. Noticing that all the two-person tables in front of the school's bookstore were taken, she had other no choice but to sit at the end of a long table where a small group of sorority students were having their breakfast together.

When they saw Rizu's messy appearance, they rolled their eyes and talked about her under their breaths. "Do you see that girl?" asked one sorority member, nodding her head toward Rizu's direction. "She really must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed today."

"I wouldn't want to be caught looking like that," said another girl. "I wonder if she's worse when she has an umbrella."

"Yeah, she has got to be one of those stupid freshmen. If she's not, then she must have been really stupid to walk outside this morning without something to protect her from the rain!"

Rizu felt a painful jab in her heart as she took her seat and began to eat her breakfast. She did everything she could to ignore them, but their words and their laughter had involuntarily gotten under her skin.

_This is just like high school,_ she thought bitterly as memories of students making fun of her raced through her mind. _You'd think they'd change after coming to university, but they still want to be better than everyone else! And why must I keep dealing with this shit?_

She sat in her seat and continued to eat her breakfast in silence. None of her classmates or her hallmates passed by her table, nor did a familiar face wave at her. No one dared to speak to her, but she was not completely surprised by her unwanted solitude.

Next to her messenger bag was a copy of the school's daily newspaper. She grabbed it to make herself look interested with the current events and began to read the headlines as she munched on her chocolate-iced cake donut. Nothing caught her attention until her brown eyes landed on the center of the front page. There was a colored photograph of a few young women from her church lying unconscious from what the journalist called a "raid" the night before. The cause of the incident was still under investigation, but all of the victims had a low energy level and were unable to wake up from their comas.

_This is all too weird,_ thought Rizu before she took another bite out of her donut. _And I just saw them yesterday!_

Her eyes shifted upward as she noticed the sorority girls passing by with their trays of trash in their hands. "You know, that newspaper can be a great umbrella," giggled the leader of the group.

Rizu glared at them the moment they had their backs turned to her. After finishing the last of her breakfast, she folded her newspaper and shoved it into the front pocket of her bag as she began to organize herself for her next class. She walked to the trashcans with her tray and mumbled through clenched teeth, "If only I was just like everyone else, if not better!"

By the time she returned to her room, she knew she only had twenty minutes to spare before she had to go to her next class. She swapped her Astronomy book for her hardback copy of _English Writing & Composition_, and with the help of her silver barrettes, she fixed her long bangs that were curling tightly in all directions.

She also remembered to grab her umbrella before she locked the door.

When she returned to her room after taking a long exam in English Composition, Rizu slammed the door shut and flopped onto her bed. She swore to herself that she was destined to have a bad day from the minute she woke up. Her alarm clock did not go off at the right time and she had overslept, she had forgotten her umbrella on the way to Astronomy, she left behind her assignment for said class and failed a pop quiz, and her breakfast was ruined by the taunting of a group of preppy sorority girls.

_And then I ended up getting a C on an English test that I know I studied my ass off for the last few nights!_ she thought. _What am I going to do, Shinmei?_

At that moment, she heard her cell phone ringing in her messenger bag, but by the time her mind registered the noise and she found its source, the phone call was sent directly to voicemail. "Why would anyone want to call me during this time?" she grumbled.

She accessed her voicemail center and discovered that there were two unheard messages. "First unheard message came yesterday at 8:47 p.m.," said the robotic voice on the receiving end of the cell phone.

"_Konnichi wa,_ Rizu! This is Mama! I hope you had a good weekend at Oukan. Papa and I didn't hear from you at all, and being Papa, well, he's a little worried about you. Give us a call when you get this message. We love you!"

Rizu quickly deleted her mother's message and listened to the other unheard message. She was not surprised to hear that it was her father who had called just a minute ago.

"This is me. I just want to know how you are doing. I hope everything is going better for you this time. Anyway, I know you are in class, and I understand. Call me sometime."

After deleting the second message, Rizu tossed the cell phone at the foot of her bed and buried her face into her pillow in frustration. She then felt tears falling down her face and mumbled, "What am I going to do, Shinmei? I can't tell Mama and Papa what's going on! They'll only want to take me home and keep me there!"

She glanced at her alarm clock on her bedside table, which read 12:07 p.m., and groaned to herself. As she slowly flipped onto her back, she thought, _I hate waiting around for my afternoon classes._ _Maybe I should start on that Art History paper while I have time to kill._

Pulling herself off of her bed, Rizu changed into her school gym clothes for her late afternoon Fitness Walking class and stuffed her Art History book into her messenger bag. Prepared for the next several hours of her Monday routine, she locked the door and headed toward the Oukan University Library on the other side of the parking garage near the auditorium.

The trip to the library usually took Rizu five minutes to get there from the door to her room to the nearest set of doors at the south entrance. Over the summer, the amphitheater-like structure between the library and the auditorium received a major facelift for liability reasons. The square set of stairs was paved over because it posed as a severe threat for potential injuries. The school had also invested in a ramp to cater to the group of disabled students living nearby in the suites.

By the time she entered the building, Rizu found many students walking around the first floor, and only a few computers were available for public use. She sat down at one of the computer stations near the north entrance and searched for several sources for her paper. She typed in "Leonardo DaVinci" into the search engine and found many books that would be useful for her bibliography. Writing down their call numbers on a small sheet of paper, she grabbed her messenger bag and headed toward one of the elevators in the west wing of the library to begin her quest.

Looking around the top two floors sometimes felt like walking through a labyrinth, which frustrated many students whenever they had to search for a book by its call number. Rizu was fortunate enough to learn the strange system at a young age, and she made sure that she was familiar with Oukan University Library's layout before the end of her freshmen year. Searching for a particular book was like shopping, and she hated to shop if it had nothing to do with music, books, or Lolita's Closet novelties. If she had to buy a necessity, she was usually in and out of the store in less than five minutes.

The same rule applied to library books, but this time proved to be difficult. She found all but one book, and she began to fear someone from her Art History class had just checked it out before she could get to it. She searched around in several shelves, but she came up short and became flustered. "This is just great!" she muttered under her breath. "Maybe some new librarian misplaced it. And I don't have time to look through library for that damn book!"

"Maybe you're not looking in the right place," suggested a friendly masculine voice behind her.

Rizu turned around to face a tall, middle-aged man with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes behind his spectacles. He wore a white dress shirt that was tucked into a pair of khaki dress pants. On his neck hung a red tie similar to Rizu's and a necklace with a gold cross charm dangling in the center. Above his left pocket was his nametag, which read "Geiburieru" in black ink.

In his right hand was the object of Rizu's current desire. "Would this be the book you were looking for?" he asked with a knowing smirk on his lips.

Rizu snatched quickly it from him and skimmed through the pages, double-checking to see if it was indeed the book that she was missing. "I don't believe it!" she gasped. "How did you know?"

"Have you not been assigned a midterm paper in Art History?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"It seems to me that your class has been checking out a lot of books about famous artists as of late. And considering that you have other books over Leonardo DaVinci in your possession, I'm convinced that you were looking for this title."

"But what if I was looking for the same book for a different class? Or what if I was looking for a different book?" asked Rizu, hoping to stump the librarian and his crazy assumptions. _Besides,_ she thought, _he might have taken a wild guess and just came up lucky this time around._

"Regardless of the subject, many students in Art History are assigned to one movement or one artist to prevent the possibility of cheating. I wasn't surprised to find you searching for this book. It is the most sought-after title we have here for those doing a research paper about DaVinci's works of art and not his scientific studies."

Rizu shot a suspicious look at him as she crossed her arms and arched her right eyebrow. "What are you? A stalker or something?" she asked.

Geiburieru's blue eyes glittered in amusement as he replied, "You could accuse me for that, but I'm here to help you. Well, more like to _protect_ you—"

"Protect me?" scoffed Rizu. "The last time I checked, I don't need to be protected, _Geiburieru_. I am quite capable of taking care of myself. Now, if you will excuse me, I must get these books checked out so I can start on my paper."

Just as she turned away, she heard the strange man call out to her, "I beg to differ, _Rizu_."

Stopping in her tracks, she slowly turned around to face him, appalled that he, a stranger in her mind, addressed her by her first name without asking for her permission to use it. "How did you know my name?" she asked.

Geiburieru walked up to her with a smile on his face and replied, "Like I said, I'm here to protect you. You're the Chosen One to fulfill one of the many long-awaited prophecies yet again."

"What do you mean by that? Why am I this Chosen One? And what do you mean by yet again? I have never fulfilled any prophecy in my life! I don't know what you're talking about!"

The man's eyes opened wide as he realized that he had given too much information for his comfort. _Oh no! I wasn't supposed to say that,_ he thought. "It's complicated in a way."

"I got time now that you certainly have my attention," retorted Rizu.

"Well, then, why don't we go to my office and talk about this so no one else can hear us?"

"How can I trust you?" asked Rizu. "How can I believe that we're gonna have a civilized conversation and that you're not some a perverted freak?"

"Tell me this, Rizu," said Geiburieru with a smirk. "Would Shinmei send a 'perverted freak' to guide you on your journey?"

Before he could receive an answer from her, he took her by the hand and led her toward the elevators. "There's not much time left. We need to talk about this right away!"


	6. Chapter Five

**Author's Song Choice:** So, I was on a Five for Fighting fix when I was writing this chapter in 2008, and the only song that came to my mind that would be deemed as appropriate was "World." The line _"Be careful what you wish for... history starts now"_ totally sums up Rizu's decision in this chapter, and if you think about it, it also goes back to her comment in the previous chapter about how she wished she was like everyone else, if not better. Well, guess what? Her wish came true.

Chapter Five

The Light in the Darkness – Tamashii Is Born!

Stepping out of the elevator, Rizu followed the mysterious librarian to a room behind the circulation desk on the main floor with a pang of suspicion that caused her stomach to do flip-flops. She felt very unsure about Geiburieru's intentions toward her, and she was starting to wonder if it was a smart idea to get started on her research paper in the first place.

When they arrived at the door to his office, he turned to her and asked, "Are you ready?"

Rizu looked at him for a second with unconvincing eyes. "For what?" she answered.

"What I am about to reveal to you." Before she could speak another word, he interrupted her thoughts with a strict order, "Do not tell anyone about this, not even your roommate."

He unlocked the wooden door and led her into the small room. It was nothing more than a simple office space, something similar to those of the other librarians—a computer station with the latest PC operation system and a giant desk, a set of office chairs, framed posters of several great masterpieces of art with images of angels and biblical characters, and four file drawers stacked on top of each other. In the corner adjacent to the filing cabinet was a small kitchenette with a wooden table and matching chairs, several china cups and saucers, and a coffeepot full of hot tea.

As far as Rizu could see, there was nothing in the room that could prove to her that Geiburieru was indeed a stalker, but that still did not mean anything. Stalkers were known to appear innocent until the time had come to strike their victims like a snake. "Is this what you wanted to show me?" she scoffed, feeling bored with her surroundings. "I was expecting something better than this."

"I assure you, Rizu, this is just the beginning," answered Geiburieru.

He opened the top drawer of the filing cabinet and took out a long silk box with images of a cherry blossom branch. "Here we go. Just what I needed."

He then turned to Rizu and asked, "Do you know what is in this box?"

"No," replied Rizu, rolling her eyes. "What's in it? A red pill and a blue pill like in _The Matrix_ or something?"

"Why don't you open it for yourself?"

He gave the box to Rizu and watched her study the object in her hands. She lifted the lid and pulled out a strange handheld wand like the ones that she had seen in a typical magical girl anime and manga. It was designed like the _kurisuchan_ cross, and it was made out of gold with a pink base at the bottom. At the top was a pink quartz crystal perched between a pair of angel wings, and inside the crystal was the engraved kanji symbol for _tamashii_, the Japanese word for "soul". "What is this?" she asked.

"That is a _henshin_ pen," explained Geiburieru. "It belongs to you now."

Rizu looked at the librarian with a deadpan expression on her face as if she thought he was joking. "You're kidding," she said. "You've got to be kidding! Why me? Why did you pick me?"

"Because you're the Chosen One."

She groaned and threw her hands up into the air in frustration. "That's it!" she sighed. "I am getting sick and tired of you saying that I am this so-called Chosen One! What do you mean by the 'Chosen One'? Am I some kind of savior to the world?"

"In a way, yes," replied Geiburieru roughly.

"Was that not supposed to be Iesu's job millenniums ago?" asked Rizu with an arched eyebrow.

The librarian slowly lowered his glasses as he scowled at her with angry blue eyes that sent chills down her spine. She had no idea what she was doing to him, but whatever it was, he was becoming more agitated with her for every insult she threw at him. "Yes, it was, and you have been chosen to prepare the way for His return!" he hissed through clenched teeth. "You are the one we have been looking for!"

"And who am I that you speak of? Surely not Iesu's daughter or something!"

Geiburieru took a deep breath and answered firmly, "You are Tamashii, the leader of a group of _senshi_ known as the Angelic Guardians. You were sent to this world by Shinmei himself to be born as a mortal with angel-like qualities. Each Angelic Guardian possesses either a Seed of the Spirit or a Seed of Man. _You_ hold a Seed of Man within your spirit, which happens to be Soul."

Rizu remained silent until he had finished his explanation, and then she did the unthinkable.

She laughed.

"What's so funny about this, Rizu?" demanded Geiburieru angrily. "This is serious!"

"I might be a follower of Shinmei, but I think you have the wrong person for this job," answered Rizu, catching her breath and forcing herself to straighten up.

"I beg to differ, my dear. I believe I found the right person," argued Geiburieru. "You look like the girl who was once Tamashii several years ago before she decided to live a normal life. You have the same aura from before, and you obviously haven't changed at all with that bullheaded attitude of yours."

"If I am this so-called Tamashii, then why don't you tell me why I chose to live a normal life?" asked Rizu.

"I can't, or at least not right now. The time isn't right for you to know the truth."

"But why?"

Masking his frustration, Geiburieru feigned a smile and walked past the girl to the other side of the room. He picked up a teacup and its matching saucer from the table, poured a cup of hot tea from his coffeepot, and then offered it to Rizu. "Let's talk about this over tea, shall we?" he suggested. "There's a story I must tell you."

"Hold it!" interrupted Rizu. "I know it sounds weird of me to say this to you, but I don't drink tea. I hate it."

"Well, then, let me have a cup for myself."

Geiburieru pulled his office chair over to the wooden table and watched Rizu take the empty seat that was sitting next to him. _She just has to make it difficult, doesn't she?_ he thought to himself.

Sipping his hot tea, he cleared his throat and looked at the young woman as he began his tale. "Nineteen years ago, Myoujou the Dark Demon, the enemy to Shinmei as you may have read in the _seisho,_ came across a land of purity and holiness in this country because of a certain Angelic Guardian that was born among mankind. He feared this Guardian as much as he feared the great power of Shinmei because according to the angels, whenever she was born, Shinmei's blessings were to follow. He had also gotten wind that there had been a crop of other Angelic Guardians born throughout Japan in this era, which meant only one thing: that Shinmei had chosen this new century to be the return of Iesu and the end of Myoujou's reign.

"Threatened by these reports, Myoujou began to spread his wickedness throughout this chosen city by taking over the souls of those who followed Shinmei's commands and using them to his advantage for the next Holy War. He mainly focused his attack on teenagers because of their never-ending quest for truth and self-identity.

"But one soul was an exception. I discovered a young girl several years ago who was very much like you. She was an outcast to her classmates because she was caught exorcising a demon out of her best friend's body, and many of them thought of her as a freak. It was then I knew that there was only one being out there that could do such thing. That being was the legendary Angelic Guardian Tamashii."

"Why was she so legendary?" asked Rizu.

"Tamashii has been around since the beginning of mankind along with other Angelic Guardians," explained Geiburieru. "Unlike mortals, the soul of an Angelic Guardian can live forever. When each Guardian's mortal body is unable to continue its life on Earth, or when the body breathes its last breath, the spirit leaves its owner and waits for a chosen Seed that has just been conceived and that is worthy and strong enough to possess such holy power through reincarnation. It's not necessarily a complete reincarnation, for no two people look exactly alike between two different generations. Their identity may change, but their spirit will not. Unforunately, mankind has never heard of such thing because for the sake of their safety, the Angelic Guardians are not allowed to reveal their true identity.

"But I wasn't the only one who had an eye on the girl. Myoujou heard about this amazing power she had from long ago, and as you know from many world religions that accept the concept of Heaven and Hell, he wants to overthrow Shinmei and take over the world. And seeing a mortal with such power like Tamashii's was something he wanted to use to his advantage against Shinmei.

"So, one day, he sent a strong demon after her to either lure her to his side or to destroy her. Obviously, she made the right choice, but it wasn't the choice Myoujou wanted. I had no other option but to intervene and give her the same _henshin_ pen that you're holding right now.

"In the end, the day was saved, and the girl was now more than just a normal student. But her journey was far from being over. Later on, she found more Angelic Guardians like her at her school, one of which was a boy she was very interested in but thought she would have no luck at winning his heart."

"And did she?" asked Rizu.

"She eventually did," answered Geiburieru. "They were a powerful team, and he was the only Angelic Guardian who possessed a Seed of the Spirit, though I'm not able to recall which one it was. You see, there are nine of those particular Seeds, and only three true Seeds of Man just like yours, Rizu. The other four Angelic Guardians on their team, all who happened to be friends of her lover, had Seeds of Man, but they were not as strong as the one that Tamashii possessed because they grew up in a faithless nature for so long.

"The final battle occurred before Tamashii graduated from high school and moved on to the next stage of her young life. The Angelic Guardians used all they had to freeze Myoujou into a block of ice, and Tamashii banished him into the ninth ring of Hell.

"We thought all was well, and Shinmei granted Tamashii the chance to live the life of a normal girl on graduation night. But in return, she had to give up all her memories of what happened since the day she learned of her destiny, which included her intimate relationship with her high school sweetheart.

"We were soon wrong about the fate of Myoujou. Somehow, he was set free the following year, and his whereabouts were unknown for so long until last night right here in Oukan. I assume you heard about that strange attack on some of your acquaintances from your church. That was definitely Myoujou's doing. He's trying to gather souls for his army, and I needed to find you before more students fall victim to his plot against Shinmei."

"What plot is that?" asked Rizu.

"The same one he had from the beginning, except he's now after older students like yourself," replied Geiburieru. "Believers or not, everyone on this campus is a target, and I fear he's about to strike again tonight.

"I would have asked the remaining Angelic Guardians for help or at least to assist Tamashii with this new crisis, but each and every one of them who had a Seed of Man chose to return to their sinful nature and destroyed their Seed Crystals. We lost all four of those Angelic Guardians because of their decision. The whereabouts and the motives of Tamashii's lover, however, remain unsolved. From what I have heard, his Seed of the Spirit wasn't destroyed, and I have yet to locate him.

"So, it is now my job to find the girl who is, or could be, Tamashii, and find a new generation of Angelic Guardians, perhaps those who are the true twelve Angelic Guardians of Heaven."

Geiburieru lowered his spectacles as his blue eyes twinkled with hope. "And my search for Tamashii has come to an end," he added with a smile.

Rizu shifted in her chair, feeling uncomfortable after listening to Geiburieru's tale. "I still think you have the wrong girl," she said quietly as she laid the _henshin_ pen on the table. "I'm far from being this Tamashii."

"You believe in Shinmei?" asked the librarian.

"Yes."

"You believe that his only Son Iesu was sent here to earth to die for our sins and that He is your Savior?"

"Of course!"

"And do you try and live a holy life?"

Rizu looked away from the man before her with a frown on her lips, indirectly hinting of the wrong choices she had made over time. "I try to, but I'm far from being perfect," she replied softly.

"Rizu, you can't be perfect," said Geiburieru. "The only person who was perfect used to walk on this planet as a mortal, and look what they did to Him! You can choose to be like Him, though!"

Rising to her feet, she shook her head and flung her messenger bag over her left shoulder as she reached out to grab her stacks of books that were sitting on the table. "I'm sorry, Geiburieru," she said firmly, "but I'm just not the girl for the job. I _know_ I'm not the one you need! Find someone else to be Tamashii, but don't bother me again!"

She slammed the office door behind her, leaving the librarian alone in his chair at the table with his teacup in his hand. He looked up at the ceiling above him and sadly shook his head. "I'm starting to question the same thing, sir," he said with a heavy sigh. "Help me."

Later that night in their room, Beronika stood in front of the mirror above the dresser as she applied a light layer of makeup to her face and pulled her brown hair into a small tight bun. "I have no idea when I'll be back from practice," she told Rizu who was reading one of her library books near the foot of her bed. "I would imagine around nine."

"The big recital is coming up soon, isn't it?" asked Rizu, barely tearing her eyes away from the book.

"Very soon," replied Beronika. "It's only a matter of weeks, and I think you're going to love it."

"I think so too," said Rizu nonchalantly as she turned the page.

"Interesting topic?"

"Leonardo DaVinci. More geared toward his art rather than the famous discovery of his code."

Beronika giggled to herself as she grabbed her purple sweatshirt jacket that was hanging across her chair. She slipped it over her black tank top and then reached down to pick up her black gym at her feet. "Don't get yourself too lost in your studying, Rizu," she said softly. "You really need to get out more often these days."

"Perhaps when you're finished with your dance practices," sighed Rizu, nodding her head in agreement.

"Yeah, but I'd really like to see you make some friends on your own other than those that I hang out with," said Beronika sadly. "I'll see you later tonight."

"Take care," said Rizu as she closed the door behind her roommate. Just as she let go of the silver knob, she heard her stomach growling loudly for food. Looking at the clock on the microwave that was sitting on top of her refrigerator, she realized that it was time for dinner.

"Well, Rizu, you can't read on an empty stomach," she said aloud, reaching over toward her bedside table for her keys and her identification card.

On the second floor inside the school auditorium, Beronika sat on a blue mat as she watched her classmates work on a particular piece that she opted to sit out. Her new best friend Raura, the redheaded waitress that she met in Sukoti's, was selected as one of the several dancers but not the lead role. It was usually reserved for seniors or outstanding junior dancers like Beronika, and Raura was only a freshman with little university dancing experience.

Startled out of her thoughts, Beronika felt a cold presence dashing behind her from out of nowhere. She looked over her right shoulder but found nothing suspicious or odd. _That was weird, _she thought before she turned her attention back to the rehearsal.

Her mind, however, was somewhere else.

Minutes later, the senior choreographers granted all the dancers a fifteen-minute break before moving onto the second half of recital practice, which consisted of pieces both girls were selected to participate in. Raura and Beronika walked out of the practice room together and stopped at the water fountains in the hallway of the east wing. "You were amazing!" exclaimed Beronika.

"Yeah, for a freshman with not much of a part," said Raura coolly, taking a sip of the cold city water.

Standing straight up and drying off her lips with the back of her hand, she looked at her friend with a concerned look on her face and noticed that Beronika's brown eyes were filled with worry. "B, is there something wrong?" she asked.

Surprised, Beronika stammered, "N-n-no! No, nothing's wrong! I just spaced out, that's all."

"You sure? You seemed troubled tonight."

"No, I'm fine!"

"B, I've known you long enough to know that when you have that look in your eyes, there's something on your mind. Don't go lying to your best friend. What is it?"

Beronika snorted and answered, "You're not going to believe me."

"Try me."

Beronika opened her mouth to speak, but she was suddenly cut off at the sound of several blood-curdling screams from inside the practice room. "What was that?" asked Raura worriedly.

"I don't know, but I'm going to check it out!" replied Beronika, dashing down the hallway with Raura following close behind. When they had reached the practice room, they found the strangest sight standing before them.

The head choreographer was being choked and levitated from the ground by a strange-looking pink monster in a tutu. She looked more demonic than monstrous to the girls. She had a pair of pointed ears, and her wild green hair flowed against her back. "Give me your energy!" she hissed.

"No! Please, don't! Spare me, please!" he begged.

Taking a deep breath, the she-demon sucked his soul right out of his body and swallowed it, leaving the man cold and unconscious as if he was dead. She threw him against the wall where he landed next to several bodies of their fellow classmates.

Licking her lips in delight, the she-demon giggled under her breath. "Not quite what I was looking for, but one more soul stolen from Shinmei," she purred.

"Ew!" shrieked Raura. "That monster just sucked him dry!"

The she-demon's ears perked at Raura's voice, and she turned on her flat feet toward the dancers that had escaped from her grasp. "How did you two manage to get away from me?" she asked viciously.

Before she could reply, Raura found herself being pinned against a blue mat on the wall and the she-demon looking into her dark hazel eyes hungrily. "You're next, dearie!" chuckled the creature.

Screaming at the top of her lungs and struggling to free herself from the monster's grasp, Raura slowly felt her life being stolen until she could scream and thrash no more, slumping onto the floor face first.

Beronika gasped as she saw her best friend go from being very much alive to being in a coma within a matter of seconds. She looked up to see the she-demon flying right toward her, but she quickly ran out of the practice room and down the hall of the building, screaming for somebody's attention to help get away from the crazed soul-sucking creature that was gaining on her tail.

Rizu heard Raura's cry coming from inside the rear entrance of the auditorium as she passed the library a few minutes after having a delicious dinner at the food court. The voice started off strong, but then it died down to nothing but silence. "What the hell was that?" she asked.

"That was one of Myoujou's targets," said Geiburieru from out of nowhere.

Rizu turned around to find the strange librarian standing behind her. "He knows you're here," he continued. "There's a demon of his running loose in that building and gathering energy to help build the Infernal army, Tamashii."

"For the last time, I am _not_ Tamashii!" yelled Rizu in frustration. "Who are you to tell me that I am, Geiburieru?"

Geiburieru narrowed his blue eyes at her and took off his spectacles to reveal his striking face. "You leave me with no choice, then," he said as he shrugged his broad shoulders.

Straightening himself up, he clenched his muscles and sprouted a pair of beautiful, white angel wings from his back. His clothes turned into a long white robe, representing his purity from all physical and spiritual stains. His hair suddenly went from blonde to a shiny shade of gold.

"You're… You're an angel!" gasped Rizu in surprise.

"Yes," said Geiburieru with a curt nod. "I am Geiburieru, the archangel of Shinmei. Now do you believe me?"

Frantically, Rizu fell down to her knees and begged the golden angelic creature for forgiveness. "I-I-I'm sorry I didn't believe you! I-I-I thought you were playing a joke on me!" she sputtered.

"Erizabesu Hikarino, do not fret," said Geiburieru gently. "You have been forgiven for your doubt. I have come here in the name of Shinmei to bring you good news. The High King still finds great favor in you, and He is asking you to help protect this land from Myoujou by becoming Tamashii again."

With blue eyes filled with assurance, he held the cross-like _henshin_ pen in his right palm as he offered it to her one last time. "I was not lying when I told you that you were chosen to be Tamashii," he continued. "This is your destiny, but you must accept it now if you wish to save your loved ones from their doom."

Rizu looked over her right shoulder at the building at the sound of Beronika screaming for help on the other side of the brick walls. _Beronika is in there,_ she thought, _and she needs help… _my_ help. She's the only true friend I've got right now._

Turning back to the archangel, she asked, "What do I have to do?"

"Just say the name of the Angelic Guardian inside you," he instructed.

Taking the pen from his hand, she took a deep breath and cried out, "_Tamashii!_"

The pink quartz crystal on the pen began to glow brightly as it emitted a pink light that surrounded Rizu and swallowed her whole until a pink figure burst the light bubble into particles of pure energy. It was a female _senshi_ clothed in a pink tank top, a pink miniskirt, a pair of pink gloves, and a pair of pink boots. On each sleeve of her top were three gold gemstones that matched those on a pair of gold belt bands at the hem of her top and above her miniskirt. She wore a gold cross pendant choker with a pink heart jewel in the center of the cross, and in the center of her tank top was its replica in the form of a brooch. Around her forehead was a pink band with a cross jewel of gold in the middle of the silky material. Her curly cinnamon blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail with long tendrils framing her face, and her brown eyes were hidden behind a pink mask that sat on her slender nose.

What was once a young woman named Rizu Hikarino now stood a powerful entity in her place: Tamashii, the Angelic Guardian of the Soul and the Light.

The pink _senshi_ opened her eyes and examined the strange change of appearance she had just experienced. "Wow!" she breathed. "I really _am_ Tamashii!"

"Yes, you are," said Geiburieru, "and now you have a job to do."

"Well, let's go then!" said Tamashii as she ran toward the back entrance of the auditorium. But when she heard no footprints approaching her from behind, she turned around and saw the archangel standing still in his spot. "Aren't you coming along?" she asked.

Geiburieru shook his head and replied, "No. You are on your own, Tamashii, but I will help you if you are ever in danger."

"How can you help me if you're not going to be with me?"

Geiburieru smiled as he said softly, "Just listen and you will hear me speak to you."

Nodding her head slowly, though feeling unsure about the archangel's words, Tamashii entered the building and hoped that her task was not going to be as frightening as her favorite magical girl anime depicted it as so.

Yet, she had a strong gut feeling it would be just that. "What did I ever do to deserve this, Shinmei?" she muttered under her breath as she searched through the first floor for the she-demon or any survivors. "Why must you smite me all the time?"

Meanwhile on the second floor, Beronika ran as fast as she could from the hideous ballerina she-demon that was zooming in on her at an incredible speed, but by the time she had reached the staircase in the northwest corner of the building, she felt herself being pinned against the white railing and nearly tumbled over the edge. "Please!" she cried out in pain as sharp claws dug into her neck. "Stop it!"

"Too late, dearie!" cackled the she-demon as she took a deep breath and slowly sucked up the dancer's soul.

Beronika struggled in the monster's grip, but she soon became tired and exhausted from the loss of energy. Her eyes grew heavy, and her body sagged to the hard floor against the railing.

The she-demon swallowed the last bit of the girl's soul and licked her lips clean. "Mmm," she growled in delight. "How delicious! An agnostic would be perfect, but it's still not what I was looking for!"

"Stop right there!"

The she-demon looked over the railing and found a silly-looking superheroine dressed in pink glaring at her. "How dare you steal that girl's soul!" reprimanded the pink _senshi_.

"And just who do you think you are snooping around my business?" sneered the she-demon.

"I am Tamashii," replied the girl as she walked up the staircase and stood in front of the she-demon. "I am the Angelic Guardian of the Soul and the Light, and I am here to stop you from stealing more souls for whatever reason you may have!"

The monster laughed out loud and scoffed, "An Angelic Guardian? You've got to be kidding! They don't exist anymore!"

Tamashii took a step back and shuddered with fear. _She thinks I'm joking, but I'm not!_ she thought. _Are all demons like this?_

"Well, if you are an Angelic Guardian, let's see if you can stop me! Have you ever tried ribbon dancing?" asked the she-demon.

Summoning a silver baton into her hand, the creature twirled it above her head and pointed it at Tamashii, shooting a long light pink silk cord at her. The ribbon curled around her target and trapped her in a bind.

Noticing her predicament, Tamashii looked at the she-demon with pleading eyes. "You wouldn't!" she gasped.

"Oh, I would," sniggered the she-demon. "Now, can you twirl?"

Pulling the ribbon back, the creature flicked her wrist, and Tamashii was sent spinning down the steps until she crashed into the wall where the two set of stairs met at a carpeted landing. "Ow!" she whined. "That's not fair!"

"Whoever said I played fair?" asked the she-demon, jumping from her spot to where Tamashii was lying. "Let's see what kind of soul you have, you Angelic pest!"

Grabbing her roughly by the neck and digging her long nails into her skin, the she-demon began to take a deep breath.

_"Come on, Tamashii!"_ said Geiburieru from inside Tamashii's mind._ "You can do it! There's no need to give up now!"_

"Please! Stop it!" cried Tamashii. "Stop it! Just STOP IT!"

She wailed loudly, and the cross gem that was on her headband began to glow violently, blinding the demon for only a mere moment. She felt the monster's grip on her loosen, and she took off running down the stairs and through the first floor.

As she turned the corner of the west wing, Tamashii looked over her shoulder and saw the she-demon flying reaching out for her. She suddenly felt herself being pushed against the wall, and she was soon trapped by the she-demon's massive weight. "You should have never done that, you stupid Angelic Guardian!" hissed the she-demon as her nails extended out into razor-sharp claws. "Now it's time to pay the consequences!"

Expecting to be slit at her throat, Tamashii turned her head to the side as she silently prayed for help, but when the alleged slash did not touch her, she opened one eye to see the she-demon being assaulted by a flaming sword at her neck. "Ouch! That burns!" cried out the she-demon in pain.

"Let her go!" growled Geiburieru from behind as he placed the sword closer to the monster's skin and tightened his grip on her.

The she-demon dropped Tamashii and took a step back with her fearful eyes still glued on Geiburieru's sword. "I let the brat go! What more do you want?" she asked.

"Give back the souls to those from whom you have stolen!" ordered Geiburieru.

"Never!"

"Suit yourself!" said the archangel as he raised his sword to slice off the she-demon's head.

"STOP IT!" wailed Tamashii, wishing for her mentor to stop the violence that was going on before her eyes. Her cross gem glowed brightly once more, and with the holy power of Shinmei, the beam was shot into the she-demon's face.

" How dare you do that to me again! You're gonna pay for that!" cursed the she-demon.

"Oh, Shinmei! What do I do now?" asked Tamashii frantically.

"Tamashii, now is the chance to use your bow and arrow!" cried Geiburieru.

"My bow and arrow?"

"Yes! They're what you need to do your Eternal Damnation attack, and it should kill this demon—"

Suddenly, the archangel was knocked off his feet and landed hard on the ground with a thud. He looked up to find the she-demon holding his flaming sword in front of him and pointing the tip at his neck. "Care to play fire with fire, angel?" she purred.

Tamashii bit her lower lip and magically summoned a golden bow designed like a pair of angel wings and a matching arrow. Growing up as a child, Rizu loved to practice her archery skills, and she mastered the art quite well, although she refused to use it for self-defense. Yet, it had been forever since she had done archery, and she worried for a quick moment if she was still able to hit her target in a single shot.

Placing the arrow in its notch on the bow, she knelt on her right knee and drew the fine string toward her right ear as she took aim at the she-demon. "Eternal Damnation!" she cried out as she released the string and sent the arrow into the creature's back.

The sharp tip severed the she-demon, and she was immediately obliterated at impact. Her scream of agony was the only sound that came from her mouth, and her body had become nothing more than a pile of pink dust at Geiburieru's feet.

Pulling himself up from the floor, the archangel looked at Tamashii with tenderness in his blue eyes and a smile full of pride on his handsome face. "Nice job, Tamashii," he praised.

Panting to catch her breath, Tamashii returned his look with one of shock and utter surprise. "Did I just… Did I just kill a demon?" she asked between short, quick gasps.

"Yes, you did," answered Geiburieru as he picked up his sword on the floor and helped Tamashii onto her feet.

"Thank you for coming to my help," said Tamashii, brushing off some of the dust from her pink skirt.

"I had forgotten that you have no magical powers, and I fear I wasn't able to tell you about your weaponry sooner," explained Geiburieru. "But I was amazed with how you handled the situation. You did well for your first battle, Tamashii. I'm very proud of you."

Tamashii's face beamed with delight, but the joy was quickly replaced by a curious expression. "Geiburieru, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"What's the deal with this cross on my headband? It had a light that caused the demon to go blind for a while whenever I screamed."

Geiburieru stroked his chin as he thought of a reply, but then he snapped his fingers as soon as the answer had struck him like lightning. "I believe that's one of Shinmei's many distractions for you whenever you send a cry for help. It's part of your Angel Cry attack. Whenever you're stuck and you feel like you are about to give up in battle, your cry will carry a signal to Heaven asking Shinmei to help you for a short moment so you can prepare yourself for the next move."

"So, Shinmei really does hear my cries for help!" said Tamashii in amazement.

"Absolutely."

Tamashii smiled for a moment before she lowered her gaze to her boots. "Geiburieru, I still feel bad for ever doubting you," she said softly.

"I completely understand, Tamashii," said Geiburieru knowingly as a place a comforting hand on her right shoulder. "After all, Shinmei doesn't expect every mortal to live a life like yours. You're one of the few Chosen Ones for this mission."

"You mean I'm not the only one?"

"Of course not! Did you not hear me earlier? There are others out there, twelve of you to be exact, but I don't know where the other eleven could be. At least I found you just in time, though."

Tamashii nodded her head in agreement. Suddenly, she covered her mouth with her right hand and gasped, "Oh no! I forgot about Beronika!"

Rushing past Geiburieru, she ran toward the staircase to find her roommate regaining consciousness. "Beronika!" she called.

Geiburieru suddenly pulled her away from the dancer's line of vision. "Don't!" he scolded her. "It's too dangerous for you to be seen like this right now. Someone will figure out your true identity! You must keep it a secret from everyone, including this Beronika you speak of. Sometimes, Myoujou likes to use his followers as spies, and you would be putting yourself at risk! You don't know who's your friend and who's your enemy."

"I see," said Tamashii glumly, feeling disappointed that she could not share such good news with her roommate.

Using the white railing as her support, Beronika slowly rose to her feet. She looked around the hallway after she heard someone calling her name, but no soul dared to step out into the light. "Weird," she murmured as she walked toward the direction of the practice room. "What happened? Why I was I doing here anyway?"

She stopped dead in her tracks as the memory before she passed out raced through her mind. "Was that a demon?" she asked quietly.

By nine o'clock, Beronika stumbled into her shared room feeling tired and exhausted. "What a night!" she sighed heavily as she dropped her gym bag in front of Rizu's walk-in closet and collapsed in her purple moon chair by the makeshift desk.

Rizu, who was sitting at her side of the tabletop, looked up from her laptop as she began to write her Art History midterm paper. "Danced too much?" she asked jokingly with eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Why would I complain about that?" groaned her roommate. "I know this is going to sound strange, but I thought there was a monster that attacked us tonight during practice. I mean I remember it was coming toward me, and then all of a sudden, I just passed out."

She used her left foot to pick up the top handle of her bag and dragged it over toward her. Opening the side pocket, she pulled out a bottle of water and chugged half of the cool, refreshing liquid down her throat. "I don't know what it is, but I just don't have the strength to do anything else at the moment. I think I'm going to bed."

Smiling to herself, Rizu faked a yawn, indirectly agreeing that sleep was a good idea for her as well. "I don't blame you," she said.

Moments later, both roommates laid on their respective mattresses underneath their covers while contemplating about the events that happened that night. "Rizu, do you think demons exist?" asked Beronika as she propped her hands behind her head and stared at the ceiling above her.

"Are you asking me if I think you're crazy?" countered Rizu.

"I guess you could say that, but I'm really being serious here."

Rizu smiled to herself, secretly grateful that her roommate was on the top bunk and that the room was pitch black with the exception of the streetlamps outside the complex. "I think that demons do exist," she replied. "They come in many forms, you know?"

"Yeah, but what about monsters like the one I thought I saw tonight?"

"Beronika, as long as you weren't drunk, hallucinating, or even being exhausted from too much practice, then I have every right to believe you."

Snuggling deeper into her pillow, she giggled loud enough for Beronika to hear from above. "Of course, I have to see it to believe it," she added.

Feeling half-tempted to throw her extra pillow at the girl underneath her bed for her cheek, Beronika rolled her eyes and turned onto her left side to face the wall. "_Konbanwa,_ Rizu," she groaned.

"_Konbanwa,_ B," yawned Rizu.

Rolling onto her side to look out the window, she added silently with a smile on her lips, "And _konbanwa,_ Shinmei."


	7. Chapter Six

**Author's Choice Song:** Being the big old-school Everclear fan that I am, I chose "Normal Like You" for this chapter because it talks about being medicated for mental illnesses or personaility disorders. You kinda have to feel sorry for Raura and the other dancers after what happened to them in the last chapter. But it also fits perfectly with Rizu's choice to live a dual life for the sake of Shinmei. Seriously. What is normalcy anyway?

Chapter Six

Myoujou Strikes Again – Kasushiusu Appears!

Several days had passed since the strange she-demon attack, but Rizu was still feeling shaky from the aftermath. Gossip from the School of Performing Arts spread like wildfire all over Oukan University, and the invasion suddenly sparked the students' interest with skepticism. Some claimed that a dancer had laced her fellow dancers' water bottles with a powerful hallucinogen, but others believed that they had been practicing too much for the senior showcase and that their minds were playing games on them. Raura and several other victims were recommended to the campus counselors after telling their classmates their bizarre story, and each of them walked away with a bottle of prescribed pills to stop their hallucinations.

Beronika, on the other hand, refused to be treated for mental illnesses and walk around in a sedated daze like her best friend. She would constantly swear to her friends that she was not crazy and that there was indeed a she-demon inside the building that fateful night, but whenever someone asked her for proof, she would become defensive and turn red in the face. "I swear there was one!" she snapped one day as she stood up and banged her hands onto the flat surface of a wooden table outside the bookstore in the food court.

Her friends sank further into their seats and refused to utter another word about it, hoping that her little tantrum would soon ebb away.

Rizu had to bite down on her tongue every time she was around Beronika, and the topic of the mysterious she-demon was brought up into discussion more often than she had preferred. If she agreed that there was a she-demon, she would be questioned nonstop concerning her whereabouts on the night of the incident. Instead, though she really did not want to, she sat quietly while she ate her meal without sparing a look at her roommate.

One night after spending another dinner hour alone, she climbed up the south steps of the library to return the books that she used for her Art History midterm, but instead of using the outside chute and then walking back to her residence complex, she decided to go inside to have a private conversation with Geiburieru if he was available. She had grown an appreciation for the archangel, and knowing his secret from the rest of the mortal world and him with hers, she felt that she could trust him with anything and not worry about it running loose from his lips.

Walking through the metal detectors with a sigh of relief after she heard silence all around her, Rizu started to walk toward the circulation desk until she found Geiburieru checking out books for another student. She stopped for a moment when he acknowledged her presence with a curt nod and moved toward the the bench in front of the questionable statue of a nude Greek goddess where she sat patiently for the archangel to finish.

When she saw the student walking away from the desk, she rushed over and placed her hands on the marble top, looking deep into Geiburieru's blue eyes. "We need to talk," she said.

"We certainly do, Rizu," agreed Geiburieru with a smirk. "Let's do this in private."

They walked to his office and sat down at his desk once the door had been closed from any wandering students and coworkers. "It would seem that most of the school heard about the attack from the other night," began Geiburieru.

"And my roommate is trying to prove that there was a demon in the first place!" added Rizu. "Raura and several other dancers went through therapy, and now everyone thinks that they're crazy!"

"Crazy?" asked Geiburieru, arching a light eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know crazy as in being locked up in a white padded room and becoming a subject for all these tests about mental instability?" explained Rizu. "I swear that the dance team is being accused of smoking the herb one too many times. Hell, the psychologists here have prescribed them medicine! They think that the she-demon was just an illusion!"

The archangel chuckled to himself. "I could see why not many people would believe their story. Demon sightings are very rare to mortals, sometimes imaginary. The same could be said about angels. At least you seem to be doing fine from what I can see."

"But what about my roommate Beronika?" asked Rizu.

"What about her?"

"Geiburieru, are you not trying to comprehend what I'm saying?"

She grabbed him by the shirt and shook him several times. "Beronika is investigating what happened, and I'm going to get caught sooner or later!"

She let him go from her grip and watched him flop back into his seat. "She'll want to find out who I really am!" she sighed in defeat, sitting down in her chair and placing a finger on her temple. "What am I going to do? I can't go up and tell her that I was the one who saved her ass that night!"

Geiburieru took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Well, this is certainly a problem, considering that you would be putting yourself at a greater risk should these next few attacks—"

Rizu's head snapped up upon hearing those three words. "Next few attacks? You mean there are more to come?" she whined.

"Well, yes," answered Geiburieru with a shrug. "Myoujou isn't one who gives up easily, don't you know that? He will do whatever it takes to get what he wants."

"And just what does he want now?" asked Rizu.

"World domination in spiritual matters. That has always been his goal: to overthrow Shinmei and to prevent Iesu from fulfilling the ancient prophecies of His return," replied Geiburieru. "I'm not too certain if that's his goal right now, but I do know for a fact that he wants you out of the picture for sure. I fear he'll strike again tonight."

"Do you know where?"

Geiburieru shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Just keep your eyes and ears open."

Rizu nodded in reply. "Will do," she said as she grabbed her messenger bag by the door and walked out of the office. "Thanks, Geiburieru," she added with a wave.

The archangel smiled and waved back at her, watching her exit the room and walk past him through his cream blinds. Resting his feet on his desk, he stretched out in his office chair and began to contemplate about his next step. "There's something peculiar about her roommate, sir, isn't there?" he asked aloud as he looked up at the ceiling for an answer.

Meanwhile in the courtyard on the other side of the library, an evil force lurked in the darkness and slithered across the cement path without being noticed, occasionally disguising itself as the shadow of an unsuspecting passerby. Its red eyes glowed with delight as it sensed a great pure power that was coming from a group of students at the fountain who were participating in an open study over the _seisho_.

The creature snuck behind a tall tree before it took the form of an alluring cherry blossom she-demon. "I think I found some perfect souls to steal from Shinmei, Master Kasushiusu," she purred.

Behind her, a blue demon, dressed like a humanoid commander in indigo with a flowing purple cape and long white hair, magically appeared with a smile plastered on his thin lips. "Very good, Sakurawoodo," he praised. "Master Myoujou will be glad to hear of your progress. See to it that these souls you seek do not escape from your sight."

"Yes, Master," replied Sakurawoodo, slightly bowing her head as she felt the blue demon disappear from the scene. As she cast her evil gaze on the group, her black eyes began to flicker with red as she put her plan into action.

Rizu was walking through the parking garage that stood between the library and her residence complex when she heard screams coming from the courtyard. "What the hell is going on?" she asked as she reached into her messenger bag for her _henshin_ pen.

Taking hold of the object of her desire, she sighed heavily with a soft whine. "Why me, Shinmei? Why did you have to pick me of all people? _Tamashii!_"

The black bag fell to the ground as she transformed, but it was then kicked aside for protection from speeding cars as Tamashii ran to the scene of the attack, unaware of a pair of curious brown eyes that heard the magic words from the other side of the structure.

Skeptic about this new superheroine, Beronika, who was just returning to their room after hanging out with Raura all afternoon, carefully followed Tamashii to the courtyard, making sure that she would not get caught by another demon or by the strange girl herself.

Outside of the library, Sakurawoodo stretched her branch-like arms to capture two frightened students that were trying to escape to safety, and she sucked up their energy using her roots. Once all of her targets had their life source sapped from bodies, she went after the terrified leader of the small group. "You're next!" she cackled as her roots wrapped around his neck, slowly draining his soul to an extremely low level.

"Hold it right there, you weed!"

Sakurawoodo glanced over her shoulder and found Tamashii standing among the circle of students lying in a comatose. "An Angelic Guardian!" she hissed. "I should have known you'd show up!"

"I'm terribly sorry I crashed your party," said Tamashii sarcastically with a smirk.

Summoning her roots to transform into her fists, she dropped the unconscious young man to the ground and growled, "I have no time to play your silly little game. Razor Petals!"

From her palms, Sakurawoodo hurled a storm of razor-sharp cherry blossom petals at Tamashii, who was barely able to react in time to dodge the attack. One petal, however, left a sharp cut on her left arm, causing her to hiss in pain. "Ow!" she squeaked as she quickly examined the little path of blood that was trickling down her skin. "That's gonna leave a mark in the morning!"

"How about an encore?" taunted Sakurawoodo as she released more razor petals at her target.

Stooping behind a flowerbed near the library, Beronika blanched as she watched the sharp petals coming toward Tamashii at a quick speed. "Watch out!" she called to her.

But Tamashii could not move, for her eyes were suddenly fixed on Sakurawoodo's attack. Her body was paralyzed with fear, and the only thing that she could do that did not involve moving a limb was to use her Angel Cry attack. Screaming at the top of her lungs, the cross gem on her pink headband glowed brightly, and the petals magically froze in mid-air.

"No!" cried Sakurawoodo angrily. "What have you done, you stupid Guardian?"

Kneeling further down on the cement, Tamashii summoned her bow and arrow and pointed the sharp tip at the demon. She pulled the string toward her ear, and she closed her left eye as she took aim, crying out, "Eternal Damnation!"

"No!" screamed the Sakurawoodo as the arrow came in contact with her stomach and blew her into smithereens of pink and red dust, releasing the stolen energy of her victims during the raid.

"That'll teach you a lesson," murmured Tamashii.

Suddenly, a thick heavy fog covered the courtyard, and the temperature quickly turned cold. Tamashii soon had a gut feeling that the battle was far from being over. "Alright, Myoujou! I know you're there! Show your face!" she called.

From behind, she heard the sound of hands slowly clapping in approval and heavy boots approaching her one step at a time. "Impressive, Guardian," purred a masculine voice, chuckling all the while.

Looking over her shoulder as the fog began to diminish, Tamashii saw a blue demonic being with long white hair along his back and a long purple cape trailing behind. He was very different from Sakurawoodo in both appearance and presence, and she did her best from trembling before him. "I see you have already defeated two of my demons, but I wonder just how many more you can beat," he said.

"You're the one responsible for all of these raids?" asked Tamashii, standing up from her attack stance.

"Someone has to take responsibility," said the demon.

"You must be Myoujou," said Tamashii icily as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Wrong," replied the blue demon with a smile. "I'm Kasushiusu, a servant of Myoujou's. I'm one of the many demonic commanders for his army."

"Kasushiusu, huh? Aren't you one of the three greatest traitors of the world? If I remember correctly, you helped with the assassination of Shi-za during the Roman Empire," said Tamashii.

"Very good, Guardian. You _do_ know your history," praised Kasushiusu. "Yes, I was there at the downfall of one of Rome's greatest leaders. I was elected into the Senate under the iron thumb of a man who was hungry for power and fame, much like the Master I chose to serve. I did what I could in my power within the Senate to make Rome a flourishing empire, but Shi-za took all my credit, and I received nothing in the end. I thought I was doing my kingdom a favor by killing a crazed megalomaniac before he brought Rome down to its knees, but in the end, I was that crazed megalomaniac along with my brothers of the Senate who helped with my plot to rid Shi-za for life.

"After I was executed for murdering the emperor, my soul was sent to the ninth ring of Hell along with my accomplice Buruutasu and other traitors of great crimes around the world. We stood beside our Master and served him faithfully over the centuries until _you_ froze him a few years ago into a block of ice!

"It was I who freed Master Myoujou from his cold prison, and it was I who was granted this task to make sure Shinmei's plan comes to an end by the domination of the Dark Demon."

"So, why are you attacking here when you could have other places in the world to dominate?" asked Tamashii. "There _are_ better choices."

"Be as it may, Guardian, but _this_ is the new chosen land in Shinmei's eyes," explained Kasushiusu. "The sooner we destroy it, the better. The fulfillment of the prophecies will then be delayed, and Shinmei will have to look for a new place, providing that there is still one left for him once our agenda is complete.

"That and the fact that you were awakened from your deep slumber here in this school is a sign of Shinmei's blessings on this land! Thus, in the name of Myoujou the Dark Demon, you must be eliminated right now!" he added, summoning a sharp demonic sword into his hands. "Prepare to die, Guardian!" he crowed.

Tamashii quickly summoned her bow and arrow into her hands one more time and took aim at Kasushiusu. "Not if I can help it! Eternal Damnation!"

He knocked the hurling arrow away with a swing of his sword and leaped into the air, coming down toward a surprised Tamashii with the tip of the blade pointing right at her head.

Suddenly, he was stopped by Geiburieru's fiery sword, and he felt himself being pushed into a nearby tree. Groaning in pain, Kasushiusu found the archangel standing in front of his intended target with his flaming sword burning fiercely in his right hand. "Why you little—" he growled under his breath.

"Yes, Kasushiusu?" asked Geiburieru, his blue eyes lit with amusement.

"I would have killed her if you hadn't interfere with our battle!"

"Is this a battle? I am so sorry! Allow me to step aside and let you two finish what you started!"

"You just stay right there, angel!" hissed Kasushiusu. "Once I'm finished with your leader's favorite pet, you and your wings are next on my list!"

"I think you're mistaken," laughed Geiburieru. "You see, you know in your little heart that you're no match for either of us. So, why don't you go back to Hell, lick the red dirt off Myoujou's feet, and come back another time when you can fight?"

"Geiburieru, what are you doing?" whispered Tamashii from behind. "You're only egging him on!"

"Trust me, Tamashii," he replied. "Everything's gonna be okay."

"You mock me, angel?" growled Kasushiusu.

"Me? Mock? Never!"

"Hear me once and hear me now: I refuse to go back until that girl is as good as dead!" screamed Kasushiusu as he began to charge toward Tamashii's direction. "Say _sayonara_, Guardian! You're history!"

All of a sudden, his feet stopped moving, and his sword clattered onto the ground. He stood there frozen and stuck in a powerful trance.

"What's going on?" asked Tamashii.

"It's Myoujou," explained Geiburieru. "He's talking to Kasushiusu through telepathy. He's also able to control his demons and commanders no matter how far away they are from Hell. It's part of the dark magic he had wielded over the years since his exile from Heaven."

"What's he saying?"

"I think you might have won this battle again but by default," he answered with a small smirk.

"Yes, Master," said Kasushiusu with a heavy sigh of defeat.

Picking up his sword, he sneered at Tamashii and Geiburieru in disgust and said venomously, "I'd be wasting my time on such an easy win, but don't think I've let you off the hook for good. Until we meet again, Guardian."

With a swish of his cape, Kasushiusu disappeared into thin air before their very eyes.

Tamashii, however, looked confused as she watched her nemesis retreat from the scene. "I wonder what that was all about," she said as her mentor nodded silently in agreement.

On the other side of the flowerbed, Beronika had seen everything to prove her sanity. Pulling out her camera phone, she flipped through her photo gallery with a cunning smile on her face. "Ha! I knew I wasn't crazy!" she said as she stood up and began the short trek to her residence complex, feeling very victorious and proud of herself.

Exhausted and tired, Rizu trudged into her room fifteen minutes later. She saw Beronika sitting at her computer as she uploaded the pictures of the battle from her phone. "Welcome back," greeted her roommate, quickly minimizing her window from Rizu's view.

"Thanks," sighed Rizu as she collapsed on her bed.

"You took a long time just to drop off a few books at the library."

Rizu gulped and quickly thought of a lie to cover the truth. "Well, you know, I'm interested in other stuff besides art," she said coolly. "I'm sorry, but I wanted to see what the library had in the new releases section."

"I understand," said Beronika as she stood up and walked toward their closets. "I heard about the new—"

She paused for a moment when her brown eyes landed on Rizu's left arm. "Rizu, what happened?" she asked in a low voice.

Realizing that she still had a rather noticeable injury from the battle, Rizu scrambled on her pink comforter and looked at the small cut that was now covered in dried blood on her skin. "Just an accident," she said with a shrug. "Clumsy me scrapped my arm on a metal shelf. I guess I was just too lazy to ask for a bandage, you know?"

"Yeah," said Beronika suspiciously. She took another look at the cut and remembered the slash that she had seen on the strange superheroine's arm, which happened to be in the very same location. _Rizu can't be her,_ she thought. _Or can she?_

Shaking her head as she dismissed the thought from her mind, she opened her closet door and took out her favorite Happy Bunny pajamas for the night. "Well, I'm going to bed, even though it is slightly early," she announced. "You better get that cut cleaned up before it gets infected even more. You never know what tiny bits of metal can do to your blood."

"I will," said Rizu. "_Konbanwa,_ B."

Looking for her first aid kit in her plastic drawers by her bed, she felt a chill running up her spine as she recalled the look in Beronika's eyes when they were drawn to her injury. It was obvious that Beronika knew that she was lying, and she started to wonder how much longer she had until the truth was revealed by accident. _This is going to be harder than I thought,_ she said to herself as she looked at the dancer for a moment. _How am I going to keep my secret from Beronika now? I almost got caught, but how does she know that I was lying to her? She wasn't at the battle, or was she?_

Beronika, on the other hand, eyed Rizu carefully but then quickly turned away when she was caught staring. Brushing her brown hair, she looked at her reflection in the mirror and began to plot another scheme with each stroke. _There's definitely something Rizu's not telling me,_ she thought, _and I'm going to get to the bottom of it!_


	8. Chapter Seven

**Author's Choice Song:** I guess Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" wins hands down. No need to explain this one.

Chapter Seven

The Dancer of the Stars – Beronika Hoshino Is the Talented Medetai!

Far below the earth was a nine-layer realm known to many people as Hell, the land of the damned. It was a dark, dreary world of torture and pain, but unlike how present-day _kirisutokyou_ had described it, not all of Hell was fire and brimstone.

If a soul were to be cast out of Heaven and into eternal punishment, he would first begin his journey to the underworld by boat on the legendary river Styx. The stream was vaster than any river, and time was known to intentionally slow down while riding on the cold, murky current.

At the mouth of the Styx was a dark cavern barred with a pair of black cast-iron gates with carved images of serpents coiling around the long rods that were as tall as the cavern itself. Though the walls of lava, coal, and ash had solidified over the years, they were still hot to touch. Above the entrance of the cavern was a set of words written in Latin like a welcome mat at the foot of a door, but because the blazing heat on the other side of the gates, the words had faded over time. Still, if one studied the dead language, he would have learned that these engraved words represented the final warning of no hope to those who were to enter through the gates.

Inside the cavern was a city that was built by the fallen angels and Myoujou himself when Shinmei kicked him out of Heaven after having been nearly overthrown by one of his trusted angels. This city, as was once mentioned by the great classical writer John Milton, was known as Pandemonium, the city of Chaos. Pandemonium had also been referred to as Hell for many years, but to avoid any confusion to the mortals, Myoujou's growing army of faithful followers preferred to use the grand name as a way to separate their home from the entire underworld.

The mortals who died in their allegiance to the Dark Demon, however, were forbidden to live within the city walls. Pandemonium was more like the Promised Land to the fallen angels as a reward for serving Myoujou during the First Holy War. Thus, the damned from the earth were led to the center of the city where they were thrown into the Lake of Fire, the entrance to the nine rings of Hell. The demons had always made sure the lake was free from having its roar silenced, for they greatly feared a certain prophecy according to the apostle Jon:

_An entity of greater power will cast the Fallen One into the Lake of Fire, and he will seal it, silencing the evil forces forevermore._

Surrounding the Lake of Fire was a marsh filled with lead, and coming out of the Gates of Pandemonium was a line of souls walking through the marsh before sinking to their doom into the water. Many damned souls passed through each hour, but even Myoujou had exceptions when choosing which ones may enter his army. He had no use for little children, and in such circumstances, he would call upon Shi, the Angel of Death, to collect the children who were punished to Hell and convince Shinmei to either let them enter through the pearly gates of Heaven or, if they were infants but not baptized, to live in Limbo until for such time. Those who were too young too take accountability were often excluded from Hell, but those who knew better and continued to sin were prohibited from gaining an appeal.

Hell was certainly not a pleasant place to visit, nor was it a pleasant place to live. Outside of Pandemonium and the Lake of Fire, the world was simply cold and empty as once described by the ancient Greeks and their understanding of Hades, but many of the damned and faithful to Myoujou lived either in the lake near the surface or in one of the three rings toward the bottom. Yet, only a few dared to reside in the ninth ring where the Dark Demon reigned on his throne of ice. This cold, freezing ring was mostly covered by an infinite frozen lake called Cocytus. Lake Cocytus was the home of the greatest traitors in history, both biblical and worldwide, although some sightings of demonic creatures from mythology were reported as they served the Lord of the Underworld for his entertainment.

Myoujou, the great Dark Demon known to the world, was more of a monster than a man, but he had the ability to shift-shape as a way to lure the vulnerable over to him. He was once a fellow archangel to Geiburieru and their brothers and sisters, but his hunger for power, his envy toward Shinmei, and his pride consumed his black heart. He convinced several angels to partake in his revolution and rallied against Shinmei to determine who was the most powerful entity there was in Heaven.

After his loss in the First Holy War to Shinmei, he was kicked out of Heaven and hurled below the earth like a meteorite. His beautiful form was charred beyond his imagination. His once white feathery wings were burnt and thin like those of a giant bat, though he often wore them like a cape around his neck. His alluring appearance became the opposite: his long hair of gold was burnt to a crisp like coal, his slender nose became broken and hooked after landing onto the fiery surface face first, and his hands and feet swelled up like balloons from the heat of the underworld with thick, dark, beastly hair covering his red skin. Somehow, whether or not it was a curse that Shinmei laid upon the fallen angel, he had grown a pair of ram-like horns and a thin tail with a sharp, spaded tip coming out of his buttocks.

But the biggest yet barely noticeable difference in his other physical features was the change in his eyes of blue. They were once full of goodness, but they had quickly turned to black, shimmering with evil and revenge.

And those black eyes of vengeance were now set on Tamashii.

Sitting on his icy throne in the ninth ring of Hell, he called for his appointed commander with his deep, baritone voice echoing off the crystal walls. "Kasushiusu! Come!"

The sound of black boots clicked on the glassy surface as the blue demon approached his beastly master. Kasushiusu knelt before the Dark Demon and respectfully bowed his head, his expression utterly indescribable behind a curtain of long white hair. "Yes, Master?" he asked softly.

"Two of your demons were defeated by a mere girl," began Myoujou.

"Not just _any_ mere girl, Master," corrected Kasushiusu.

"I am aware of who she is, Kasushiusu!" barked Myoujou, causing his commander to flinch. "And I specifically told you to eliminate her right away in order to complete the first phase of our plan! So, why have you failed me not once but _twice?_"

"Master, do not blame me for something that I had no control over!" hissed Kasushiusu. "I never expected my demons to lose!"

Suddenly, the red monster's black eyes glowed like blood as his extended right hand commanded a powerful force to grip Kasushiusu by the neck and slowly tighten his hold. "Care to run that by me one more time?" he snarled angrily.

"N-n-no, Master!" stuttered Kasushiusu. "Have mercy on me!"

"Fine," sighed Myoujou tiredly. "You are forgiven."

Kasushiusu felt himself being relieved from the Dark Demon's magic and gently nursed his sore neck. "Please, Master!" he pleaded between pants. "There are more of those Angelic Guardians than just the girl, and she will need their help soon! The archangel is about to give her information about the search!"

From his throne, Myoujou pondered quietly about news he had received. He knew from the past that Tamashii never worked alone as he remembered her small team in Roganu before they had voluntarily rid themselves from the grace of Shinmei after her departure. But how could it be that she was out to find more Angelic Guardians when those she had before were no longer Seed Crystal carriers?

"I thought we had eliminated those that stood in our way years ago when we took control of their hearts," he said.

"Correct me if I am wrong, Master, but those Seed Crystals were destroyed when those four Angelic Guardians fell from under Shinmei's watch," said Kasushiusu.

"Then, how can Tamashii form a new army against mine? Are these the legendary Seed Crystals of the Angelic Twelve you speak of?"

"I highly doubt she'll be able to find the remaining eleven in one school year, Master. Not all of the Seed Crystals are in Oukan. Many are far from the city and far from that particular region of Japan. However, the prophecies speak of the gathering of the First Five at this very time.

"These new auras have already been planted in those who were chosen since they were conceived, and all Tamashii needs to do is to gather their _henshin_ pens and use them to track down their rightful owners. As you know, Master, there is a total of twelve Seed Crystals, and yet they're scattered across the country. As far as I am aware, there are several true Seed Crystals at the school, five to be exact at this moment—the Seed Crystals of the First Five. We already know of one, Master."

"What are you suggesting, Kasushiusu? To change our tactics and go after these other Angelic Guardians before Tamashii can reach them?"

"That would be the best way to stop the girl, Master, in order to lessen the odds of our loss to Shinmei. But let it be your will, not mine, for I am nothing but a mere servant under your great name."

Standing up from his throne of ice, Myoujou slowly approached Kasushiusu with an evil smirk on his chiseled and hideous face. "Who are we to find first?" he asked.

Kasushiusu smiled delightfully in return. "Medetai," he replied.

Somewhere in another world, soft crunches on the frozen ground were heard from underneath Tamashii's pink boots. She walked through the wintry forest that surrounded her in every direction, feeling slightly tense and uncertain about her exploration. Unlike the reality she knew in her conscious mind, the falling snow was sticking to ground, but it never melted from the lukewarm temperature. For her, it was comfortable yet simply odd.

Walking beside her was Geiburieru in his angelic origin, his wings fluttering in the occasional breeze. "Do you like it?" he asked softly with a small smile.

Looking around her, Tamashii noticed another peculiar observation. In the winter, the flowers and the trees would die from the snow and the ice, but there in the strange world, they were preserved from such frigid harshness and appeared to be shiny and beautiful with a small layer of ice on the pastel petals and the green leaves.

"It's magical!" she breathed as she touched a rose that was in full bloom in a bush. "Plants could never survive the winter in the real world, and, yet, they do here! And the snow doesn't melt! It's amazing!"

Turning to the archangel, she asked, "Is this really a dream?"

Geiburieru nodded his golden head. "It's _your_ dream, Tamashii," he explained. "This is your dream world. You created it a long time ago as an escape from reality, and now you are free to walk through it again.

"As a student, I can understand how tough your studies can be, but as an Angelic Guardian, it's much harder to bear the pain and the frustration of the real world when you have to deal with such enemy like Myoujou. That is why you created the dream world to serve as your haven. This world you see here will never leave as long as you believe in it. No one can enter it but you."

"So, all I have to do is to close my eyes and dream of this place. Just like that, huh?"

"Very much so."

Out of nowhere, a red velvet music box magically appeared in Geiburieru's hands. "But this," he added, "is very real."

Holding it out in front of him, he instructed her in a friendly voice, "Open it."

Taking the box into her hands, Tamashii unlocked it with a turn of the brass cross key and lifted the lid. A soothing orgel sound began to play, and she took a gander of the secret behind the box. Inside were four _henshin_ pens just like hers except for the crystal spheres and the bases. They were made out of gold with pieces of amethyst, ruby, black onyx, and white onyx with the following names written in kanji inside the crystal tops—_Medetai_, _Iinaka_, _Shi_, and _Inochi_.

"These four pens are part of your first mission," said Geiburieru.

"My mission?" asked Tamashii.

"Yes. You are to look for the true owners of these _henshin_ pens."

Just as she reached for the pens, four golden holographic images appeared above the crystal spheres. The two to the left were young women—one slender and attractive over the purple pen, the other short and athletic over the red pen—and the two to the right were young men—one tall and slightly muscular over the black pen, the other a few inches shorter with a lanky body build over the white pen. Their faces, however, were all blurred from revealing their true identities.

"How do I go about with it?" asked Tamashii.

"From what I have gathered from Shinmei, Myoujou is planning to begin his search for Medetai very soon," answered Geiburieru as he nodded toward the holographic image over the purple _henshin_ pen. "It seems that he wants to prevent you from forming your team by finding the others first and turning them against you."

"Why am I not surprised?" asked Tamashii rhetorically.

Looking down at the elegant figure that was standing above Medetai's _henshin_ pen, she smiled politely and said, "Well, it looks like you're the first one on the list!"

"Your search shouldn't take you too long, Tamashii," assured the holographic image. "You're much closer to completing it than you think you are."

"How will I know I have found the one who is your owner?"

"The crystal will start to glow whenever you are around or close to the Seed Crystal that resonates with my pen," explained the image. "Every pen has a built-in energetic sensor that will react should its owner lose it or part from it as a result of death in a previous life. It will radiate an aura when it senses the same energy as that of its previous mortal owner within a given radius. That's how you will find all of us."

Taking the purple _henshin_ pen from the box, Tamashii held the holy object in her hand and watched the image vanish instantly. "Then, so be it," she said as she looked at Geiburieru one more time with a small smile on her lips.

At the sound of her alarm clock buzzing loudly on her bedside table, Rizu's eyes snapped open and her left arm instinctively swatted around for the "alarm off" button. She glanced over at the large red numbers, and although she did not have her glasses on, she could still tell what the time was.

8:00.

It was also Sunday, which meant church time for Rizu.

Her heavy eyelids drooped as she debated about getting another hour's worth of sleep, but she suddenly regained feeling in her right hand and felt a hard object in her grasp. _It's not what I think it is, is it?_ she thought as her eyes glanced down to find Medetai's _henshin_ pen in her hand.

_It wasn't a dream after all,_ she concluded. _Well, it looks like it's you and me for now. But where to start my search?_

Kicking her comforter aside, she hopped out of her bed and looked up to find Beronika facing the wall and sleeping soundly. She sighed heavily to herself. There was no way that Beronika, a self-proclaimed agnostic of all people, could possibly be Medetai. _Perhaps there's someone worthy enough at church,_ she thought as she grabbed her towel and shower bucket from her closet. _Yeah, I'll check there first before I make the next move. One of the students has just got to be Medetai! I mean, what _kurisuchan_ wouldn't be?_

With her identification card falling into the clear bucket, Rizu carefully turned the deadbolt and closed the door behind her, completely unaware of the pen, which was still lying on her bed, emitting a purple light all around it.

Her quest came up short after she entered her room several minutes before noon. Not a single girl in the congregation was Medetai, or so she assumed when she noticed that the _henshin_ pen was not glowing throughout the service.

And it surprised her. Greatly.

The search for Medetai lasted for almost a week, and much to her utter surprise, there had not been any reports about demon sightings either. Things were becoming too strange for Rizu, and she was starting to become worried.

Even Geiburieru noticed Myoujou's weird absence. He knew within his heart that Medetai was still at large under the Dark Demon's nose, but he also knew that the purple Angelic Guardian could not be too far from the school.

"Are you sure you have taken the pen with you to class?" he asked Rizu the following Thursday afternoon.

"I'm positive!" she answered.

"Do you have it with you at all times?"

"Yeah!"

"What about when you go to meals?"

"Of course! It's just sticking out of my bag in one of the outside pockets."

Geiburieru nodded his head. "I see. And do you eat with others or by yourself?"

"Normally with others," began Rizu hesitantly. "Well, mainly with Beronika, but lately, we haven't been eating together because of her recital practices. The senior showcase is in a few weeks, and she has been too busy to do anything else besides homework. So, I've been eating alone these days."

_Beronika,_ thought Geiburieru as the conversation he had with Rizu concerning the dancer's suspicions about demons came into his mind. _Maybe there _is_ something about that girl after all!_

Looking up at Rizu, he began to question her more. "In your dorm, where is the pen?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, "I don't know. I tend to leave it in my bag. Why?"

"Have you ever thought about leaving it out?"

Rizu shook her head. "I know for a fact Beronika isn't Medetai! She just can't be her!"

"Because she does not believe in Shinmei?" assumed the archangel.

"How did you know?" gasped Rizu.

"Wild guess," answered Geiburieru hastily with a dismissive wave of the hand. "But Rizu, you must stop making assumptions about others. You never know if you are wrong in the first place."

"Yeah, you're right," sighed Rizu. "Maybe that's why I haven't found her. Maybe I'm assuming too much."

"When is the next time you're going to be around Beronika?" asked Geiburieru.

"When she gets out of class with Raura, Actually, any minute now," replied Rizu as she checked her wristwatch for the current time. "I was invited to go with them to the mall later today."

Geiburieru gave her a small knowing smile. "Perfect," he said before he stood up from his chair and walked away from the circulation desk.

"Hey, wait! Where do you think you're going?" called Rizu.

"I'm leaving you to your search," he replied. "You don't need me to hold your hand. You know what you have to do."

Flinging her messenger bag over her body, Rizu let out an unladylike snort and turned on her heels as she stormed out of the library. "Fine! Be that way!" she called back, not paying attention to the many confused heads that had turned toward her direction.

The Oukan Mall was much bigger than the Roganu Mall, which fascinated Rizu when she first stepped into the building during her freshman year. Every space had some kind of business operating, and there were customers of all ages inside almost every day. Most of Rizu's favorite stores were at her fingertips, and she was looking forward to buying a new outfit or two and perhaps a new compact disc.

After stepping out of her car near the main entrance, Beronika ran to the front doors and beat both Raura and Rizu by a second. "I win!" she said as she stuck out her tongue at Raura.

"That's because you're a fast runner," mumbled the redhead.

Many storefronts appeared similar to those in American malls because of the current pop culture and fashion trends between the two nations, but to stay true to its Japanese roots, the mall also had some stores that carried Japanese products and accessories. Even though there was a McDonald's in the food court, there were also sushi bars and other Oriental fast food joints, including a Japanese ice cream parlor.

In the center of the mall on the lower level was an ice rink where families and couples could skate indoors without the fear of high school or Oukan University hockey players wanting to practice. Long before the city of Oukan endorsed a larger ice rink complex near the campus, there many scheduling conflicts between open skating and intramural practices, but when the city council received a huge grant from Tokyo, the first thing they did was constructing an ice rink arena to accommodate the local ice hockey teams. Rizu had always wanted to ice skate when she heard about the rink in the mall, but she never had the time to do so.

While Beronika and Raura looked for new shirts at a popular fashion chain store, Rizu walked through the aisles of Lolita's Closet next door. It was a punk and goth outlet store with a selection of international rock and metal music, graphic and novelty t-shirts, and plushies and collectible dolls of many characters from the anime scene. Lolita's Closet was one of Robu's favorite stores to visit whenever he needed a new pair of parachute pants for his wardrobe or if there was a new metal band that he wanted to check out. When he had stumbled across some _Sērā__ Senshi_ merchandise in a city near Kirugoru one day, he immediately told Rizu about Lolita's Closet and urged her to make a stop while she was in Oukan.

She was looking through a selection of anime shirts that had come in earlier that week when she came across a black shirt with a silver full moon on the front. Inside the moon was a black silhouette of a famous adolescent superheroine that she had admired since her childhood. Flipping the shirt over, she noticed that the back had _Sērā__ Senshi_ written in silver characters.

There was just one minor problem: the shirt was far too expensive for her, and it was not marked down on clearance.

"Oh, come on!" she groaned as she put the shirt back onto the shelf. She should have known anything pertaining to the superheroine was going to be popular. Recently, there had been an announcement over the summer of the live-action television series' finale that was to be aired in early fall with the release of a special act and an "act zero" on DVD by Christmas.

Rizu sighed as she studied the display aisle in front of her, and her eyes lingered over the rack of girls' junior high school sailor shirts with a crescent moon symbol over the left pocket in honor of the live-action sitcom. Just like the black shirt that she thought about purchasing, the top was too much for her price range. Even the matching blue miniskirts, which were against the standard dress code in the local schools, were costly!

_So much for feeding my fangirl addiction,_ thought Rizu bitterly.

As she made her way toward the back of the store, she walked over to the clearance section and found another _Sērā__ Senshi_ top that she had seen as a junior high student. She let out a sigh of relief when she noticed that there was only one shirt left, and it was in her size too. Without thinking twice, she grabbed it and walked up to the service counter to check it out.

"Another _Sērā__ Senshi_ fanatic?" sighed the purple-haired punk cashier in exasperation as he scanned the bar code. "This is like the tenth time I had to deal with one—"

"Hey, do you want to make a sale today?" snapped Rizu.

"You don't know how tiring it is to see all these high school and university girls going gaga over some stupid girly anime from way back when!" sighed the cashier wearily. "_Sērā__ Senshi_ had its moment of fame back in the nineties. I don't know why it had to make a comeback besides to compete with the extended _DBZ_ series. It's so stupid!"

The moment he realized that he had insulted one of the best fictional crime-fighting teams in Japanese manga and anime history, he looked up and noticed the few gothic and punk girls throughout the store glaring at him. Some of them wore _odango_ hairstyles like the main character of the series, and they were looking at him with an evil gleam in their eyes as if they were stabbing him with knives in carnal pleasure. _Big mistake, dude,_ he thought. _Very big mistake._

Clearing his throat with a cough that sounded like "sorry", he pressed the subtotal button on the cash register and said monotonously, "Your total comes to twenty-five yen."

After paying for the shirt, Rizu walked out of Lolita's Closet and found Beronika and Raura sitting in front of her on a black iron bench and stuffing their faces with chocolate chip cookies. "So, what did you get?" asked Beronika, swallowing the last chunk of her snack.

"A shirt that I've been wanting to have for a long time!" replied Rizu. Rummaging through the black plastic bag, she pulled out the white top and held it out for her friends to see. "Ta da!"

Raura lifted her right eyebrow and looked at Rizu with a small frown on her face. "You're into the _Sērā__ Senshi?_" she asked with a hint of disgust in her voice.

"What's wrong with them?" asked Rizu defensively.

"Nothing! It's just that I haven't seen a fan of theirs in a long time. You're the first one I know that's in university, and you _still_ like all that stuff."

Looking at Beronika, she whispered into her ear, "Does she even watch that corny live-action show by any chance?"

"The one on Saturday mornings? Are you kidding?" snorted Beronika. "She's practically sleeps in until noon!"

"I guess there's still some hope for you."

"Just because you never liked the anime, the manga, or the show doesn't mean that you have to bash those that do!" admonished Rizu.

"I didn't say I never liked it!" said Raura.

"No, but you _are_ insinuating," said Beronika.

"Whatever! I'm not going to argue over some fictional all-schoolgirl fighting team that little kids like a lot!" groaned Raura as she threw her hands up into the air in exasperation. "Let's go, you guys! I want to finish my shopping before it gets dark."

While driving back to the American football stadium outside the campus, Beronika felt unusually lightheaded. Placing her forefinger at her temple, she softly groaned as she felt pain upon contact.

"Hey, B, are you okay?" asked Raura, looking at her best friend to her left with concerned eyes.

"Yeah, but I don't think something's right," replied Beronika. "I'm gonna drop you guys off first at the dorms and then take the car back to the stadium. Don't worry, I'll be okay."

"No!" shouted Rizu from the back seat of the vehicle as she snapped out of her thoughts after sensing something painful happening to her roommate.

Raura looked over her shoulder at Rizu for a moment, feeling surprised at her sudden outburst. "No?" she asked.

"I mean we need to stay with her just in case something happens and she doesn't come back, you know?" said Rizu. "What if she collapses or something, and we're not around to help?"

"You do have a point," sighed Raura. "Don't worry about us, B. A little exercise won't kill us!"

"You sure?" asked Beronika.

"I'm sure!"

"Alright."

Pulling into an empty spot in the lot near the back, Beronika turned off the ignition and opened the door to get out, silently hissing from the headache as she took a step onto the gravel. "If only this was the weekend and not a school night," she muttered to herself.

The trio remained silent for most of the walk toward the giant cluster of resident complexes off to the eastern half of the school, but Rizu was also starting to feel a weird sensation. Like her roommate, she, too, felt that something was not right, and she needed to find out for herself what was causing Beronika's pain.

Raura noticed from the corner of her eye that Rizu was picking up her pace and leaving her behind with Beronika. "Rizu, what's the matter?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"Something's up, and I don't like it."

"What is it?"

"I don't know, but I think we need to get going," replied Rizu, although she knew in her heart the cause of it.

_Demons_.

In the courtyard outside the all-women's residence complex, a green male Roman soldier demon dressed in silver celestial armor had begun attacking a group of young women and stole their energy in his quest for Medetai. In one massive outbreak, he managed to steal from seven girls, including the one that was in his grasp. "Damn! Not the one I was looking for!" he growled.

"Keep looking, Romanusu!" barked Kasushiusu as he appeared behind his minion. "Surely we can find Medetai easily on this campus!"

The victim collapsed on the ground, landing next to a sorority girl who had her energy zapped out of her just moments before. Romanusu, on the other hand, looked around the area for another target but came up short in the end. "Come out, come out wherever you are, Medetai," he taunted.

Finally, the small scanner that had been covering his right eye began to beep rapidly as he looked toward the direction of the school auditorium further down the sidewalk. There were three small dots coming toward his direction, and as he zoomed in on them, the dots soon became images of Rizu, Beronika, and Raura running between the front doors and the little garden display in the brick circle.

"Bingo!" he smiled in success. "One of those girls should be Medetai."

"Let's hope so," murmured Kasushiusu before he disappeared.

Romanusu's silver eye rested at the image of Raura, his next target. "Perfect!" he said and jumped high into the nearest tree to hide from the trio.

Meanwhile, the girls stopped in their tracks as they heard a rustling sound from the tree where the demon was hiding. "What was that?" asked Beronika.

"I don't know," said Raura with a hint of fear in her voice, "but I sure don't like the sound of it, B."

Rizu, however, noticed the seven unconscious victims lying on the cement of the courtyard. Dropping her store bags and her messenger bag at her feet, she rushed over to check the sorority girl's pulse. To her relief, she found one. "That was close," she murmured.

Suddenly, she heard a cry from above as she watched Romanusu jump down from the tree right near her, forcing her to roll away from him.

"Rizu!" cried Beronika and Raura in unison.

"Get away, you guys!" warned Rizu. "It's a trap!"

But it was too late for either them to run. Romanusu had his motives set on Raura, and he quickly pinned the wailing redhead against the tree, holding her captive by the neck and draining her energy while examining its purity.

He let her thrash against him until she collapsed from exhaustion and her body released a round crystal ball. He quickly snatched it and looked over it to see if it was Medetai's Seed Crystal, but his smirk soon turned into a sneer when he noticed the crystal ball was unable to convert into a Seed Crystal. "Damn it!" he hissed as he shoved it inside Raura's body before tossing her aside. "Just another dud!"

"Stop it right there!" cried out Rizu.

The green creature turned on his heels and gave her a nasty glare. "And since when did you become the boss of me, little girl?" he asked.

"Since now!" answered Rizu, pulling out her _henshin_ pen from the front pocket of her black school coat.

Beronika looked at her roommate and noticed the gold and pink object in Rizu's hand. She could have sworn it belonged to the strange superheroine that she spied not too long ago, and after quickly putting all the pieces together in her mind, it all made sense. The _henshin_ pen, the injury on Rizu's arm after the last battle… _No,_ she thought, _Rizu can't be her!_

Running toward Rizu, she cried, "Are you crazy? You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"I know what I'm doing, B! Now get back!" ordered Rizu as she pushed Beronika away from her. "Get away from here while you still can! I got this under control!"

Taking a deep breath and praying that she would not get killed by her roommate for holding back her biggest secret yet, she cried out, "_Tamashii!_"

Blinded by the pink light that quickly enveloped her friend, Beronika shielded her eyes with her hands until the transformation was complete. She could still hardly fathom that her roommate, Rizu Hikarino, was the same superheroine who defeated Sakurawoodo by the library just weeks before. "It's you!" she gasped. "You were her all along!"

"An Angelic Guardian?" hissed Romanusu.

"That's right! I'm Tamashii, the Angelic Guardian of the Soul and the Light!" replied the pink _senshi_. "It's time to put an end to this once and for all!"

"Think you can beat me, Guardian? Think again!" taunted the demon.

He lunged himself at her with his sword, but he barely missed his target as Tamashii strategically dodged the attack, causing the sword to become stuck in the bark of the tree behind her. "Damn it all!" he cried out in frustration. "Stay in one place!"

Skidding on the cement with her pink boots firmly rooted, Tamashii found her chance to summon her bow and arrow, but before she could prepare herself for her Eternal Damnation attack, Romanusu used all of his strength and rushed toward the girl, throwing her hard against the grassy terrain and holding her by the neck.

Then, out of anger and fury, he began to shoot dark energy balls into Tamashii's stomach and caused severe damage and bruises all over her chest. Tamashii cried out for help and even wailed loudly to get someone's attention, but no help from above came at the sound of her pleas.

_Why isn't my Angel Cry attack working?_ she thought as she continued her screaming. _Why did it have to be disabled at a time like this? Where's a miracle when you need one?_

Beronika, on the other hand, felt torn between running away for help and taking matters into her own hands. She watched Romanusu brutally attack her roommate, and she clenched her fists at her side. _I wish there was something I could do to help her,_ she thought. _But I'm not anyone extraordinary like Rizu! What can I do? I can't let her die like this! I've got to stop that monster!_

From the corner of her left eye, she saw a purple light glowing in the outside pocket of Rizu's messenger bag that she carried with her during the drive to the mall. She pulled out the _henshin_ pen that belonged to Medetai, and as she examined the object closely, her headache had started to fade away. She was only distracted for a brief moment when she heard Tamashii crying for help and the manic laughter coming from a crazed Romanusu.

_You have to do what you have to, Beronika,_ she heard a soft female voice from inside her mind. _Go save Tamashii!_

Looking at the pen in her hand, she nodded to herself and narrowed her eyes on Romanusu before she cried out, "_Medetai!_"

Both Tamashii and Romanusu looked up to see a purple light and a stream of stars enveloping Beronika inside a vortex. Her school outfit suddenly vanished and was replaced with a purple female Angelic Guardian attire. Where there were gold gemstones on Tamashii, there were amethyst jewels on the new Guardian, and she, too, wore a choker and a brooch in the shape of a cross with a purple heart gem in the middle. Unlike Tamashii, however, she did not need to a mask to see better while in battle, for she rarely wore glasses as a mortal.

When her transformation was complete, the elegant purple _senshi_ took a step toward Romanusu and demanded in a cold, threatening voice, "Let her go."

The demon smirked and released his hold on Tamashii. "Finally, Medetai," he purred as he reached for his sword and pulled it free from the tree with one strong tug. "Finally, we meet."

"Yes, we have," said Medetai with a smile. She watched Romanusu charge toward her with his sword out in front of him for defense, but as he drew it back to attack her with it, she leaped high into the air and dodged the blade, landing successfully on her feet in a crouching position.

Quickly pivoting on her heels, Medetai faced the demon and formed a pistol out of her fingers. "Shooting Star!" she cried out as a large golden star shot from her fingertips and hit Romanusu as fast as a bullet from a gun.

"Ow! Ow! That hurts!" he yelped. "Why you little—"

"Now, Tamashii!" called Medetai to her companion.

Tamashii, who had been watching the entire battle from the ground, snapped out of her reverie when she heard her new ally give her the signal to attack back. "Right!" she said, summoning her bow and arrow into her hands.

With the golden arrow in its notch and aimed at Romanusu, she pulled the string back toward her right ear and yelled, "Eternal Damnation!"

Romanusu watched in fear as the arrow was shot at him and came hurling toward his chest. The tip broke through his celestial armor and made contact with his skin. Feeling the almighty power of Shinmei dissolving every bit of him, he cried out in pain before he was obliterated into a pile of green dust.

"Wow," breathed Medetai as she examined her purple-gloved hands. "I can't believe it! My first battle!"

"Yeah," said Tamashii with a gentle smile on her lips. "You were pretty amazing tonight."

Medetai approached her with soft brown eyes of wonder. "So, this is what you do when you have to be out for a while, huh?" she asked.

"More or less," answered Tamashii in embarrassment. "I couldn't tell you the truth because I would only be putting myself into jeopardy, you know? That and ever since you were attacked a while ago, you might have thought I was like everyone else who made fun of you.

"But I never thought you'd be an Angelic Guardian because, well, you never go to church and you don't really believe in Shinmei," she added guiltily. "I always thought only believers would be like me. I guess I was wrong."

"I would understand why you'd assume it would be someone else and not me," said Medetai kindly.

Extending her right hand out in front of her, she looked at Tamashii with a ghost of a smile and asked, "Allies?"

Tamashii's face beamed with joy as she accepted Medetai's hand with hers and nodded her head in affirmation. "Allies," she said.

"How touching."

The two Angelic Guardians turned to find Kasushiusu leaning against a tree with a sneer on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. "You just got lucky this time, Tamashii, but it's far from being over! I'm not done with you quite yet!"

With a twirl of his cape, the demonic commander disappeared from plain sight and just in time as the duo saw Raura and the other victims regain consciousness. Looking at each other with a nod, they transformed back into their mortal counterparts to aid Raura back to her residence hall. When she asked them about what had happened, they told her that she passed out as she was walking along with them.

"But what about the demon?" she demanded.

"What demon?" lied Beronika as she snuck a knowing look at her roommate.

"Did you not see it? A demon attacked me!"

"Raura, did you stop taking your medication?" asked Rizu. "You must have been seeing things again."

Later that night, Rizu tossed and turned in her bed as she tried to get some sleep, but she would feel the presence of Beronika poking her head down from her bunk every five minutes asking questions about the _seisho_. "Rizu, are you still awake?" she asked for the umpteenth time.

"What do you think?" answered her roommate groggily.

"Well, do you mind if I borrow your copy of the _seisho_ for a while longer?" asked Beronika. "I'm finding the first five books pretty interesting, and I might need you to help me out if I get confused."

Rolling her eyes, Rizu groaned into her pillow and muttered, "Go ahead! I don't care! Just let me get some fucking sleep!"

Pulling away before Rizu could attack her for disturbing her beauty rest, Beronika smirked to herself as she settled further down in her cluster of pillows and continued to read the leather-bound book beneath her snake lamp.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Author's Choice Song:** Back in the days when I was part of the Ball State Swing Society, I remember we used to dance to Indigo's Swing's "How Lucky Can One Guy Be?" as we were reviewing the basics to east coast swing. It is still one of my favorite jazz songs to this day. Man, writing this chapter brought back some memories of Swing Club...

Chapter Eight

One, Two, Three, Four, Rock, Fight! The Angelic Guardians' Crazy Swing!

A week later, Beronika found herself deep into the pages of the _seisho_, and just as she had guessed, she went to Rizu several times for a better understanding of what each passage meant. Rizu did her best to answer her questions, but there were a few that stumped her like the books of the prophets and the psalms of King Deibiddo. Whenever something of the sort crept up, she would only reply with, "Why don't you talk to Geiburieru about that if he's available? He might help you out. After all, he has _the_ perfect connection with Shinmei."

_A very good reply indeed,_ snorted Beronika to herself.

But she did take her Rizu's advice to heart and scheduled private conversations with the archangel in his office. After meeting him for the first time during one of Rizu's trips to the library, she found a sense of companionship with him. It surprised several of Geiburieru's coworkers to see him having an afternoon tea with Beronika while happily discussing the answers to her questions and concerns pertaining to the _seisho_, for they were used to seeing him working nonstop while on the job.

Both Rizu and Geiburieru noticed the gradual change in Beronika's views toward religion, and soon her agnostic beliefs had slowly diminished as her faith and interest in Shinmei continued to grow.

The middle of November marked the one-month countdown until the fall semester finals in December, and all the students were starting to buckle down on their projects and studies. Beronika did her first dance recital at Oukan in a three-day senior choreography showcase that weekend and invited Rizu, Megu, and Jeison to watch with her family from the crowd on opening night. Both Rizu and Megu noticed on several occasions that Jeison had his sights set on Beronika and only on Beronika throughout her performance.

Megu caught him drooling over her and whispered into Rizu's ear, "I think we're gonna to need a bigger bucket."

Rizu giggled to herself, but the mirth came to an abrupt halt when she saw Jeison giving her a stern look.

When the senior showcase was finally over for the semester, Beronika's schedule became full with loads of free time before finals, which meant being able to hang out with her group of friends at the Oukan University Swing Club. Although she faithfully attended the Monday evening meetings when she was not at recital practice, Beronika still felt guilty for not partaking in the weekend events such as the occasional trip to a jazz and big band hall in Tokyo. She also felt that she was to blame for not recruiting people into the club while her friends promoted it by dancing on the corners of the streets or in the open space of the food court.

The club had started off strong in September with sixty students, but when the classes were becoming burdensome on the students and when several club members became less interested in swing dancing, the attendance suddenly dropped to less than half of the original group. Beronika took part of the blame, along with Raura, but she promised the president that she would do her best to find more people once she was done rehearsing for the senior showcase.

She had a conversation with Jasutin, the Webmaster of the club's website, after an open swing session the Monday night before her recital. Jasutin lived in the same residence complex with the two girls but on the fourth floor, and he asked her if he knew a girl by the name of Erizabesu Hikarino after catching a glimpse of her a few times in their social lounge either playing billiards or sitting in on a Hall Council meeting.

Much to Beronika's surprise, Jasutin was one of Rizu's classmates from Roganu Junior & Senior High School, and he wondered if there was any way for Rizu to get involved with the club.

"Come on, Rizu!" begged Beronika later that night. "Jasutin told me that you knew some swing dance! He even taught you a few moves in high school!"

"I know, I know!" groaned Rizu as she continued to study for her English Composition exam the following afternoon. "But I don't know if I can do it! It's already late in the semester, and I don't remember much about swing! Hell, I don't really dance!"

"Please, Rizu, we need you!" said Beronika, taking away Rizu's book from her hands and getting down on her knees with pleading eyes. "Pretty please? I know you'll have a good time! Maybe we can get Megu and Jeison involved too!"

Upon hearing Jeison's name, Rizu snapped back into attention as her brown eyes widened with excitement. "You think so?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Beronika replied, "It's worth a shot, but not right now. It's kinda too late to teach them the basics. But at least come with me next week! Please?"

Sighing heavily in defeat, Rizu answered firmly, "Only if it gets you to stop begging."

Beronika had not forgotten their deal all throughout her big and busy weekend, and she quickly reminded Rizu of it that very Monday morning as they were getting ready for their first set of classes. "Remember, Swing Club's tonight!" she said cheerfully.

Grumbling under her breath on the other side of the heavy door, Rizu trudged her way to her Astronomy class.

At the library later that afternoon, Rizu used the south entrance and found Geiburieru talking to a fellow librarian at the help center near the computer lab. He spotted her from the corner of his eye and waved her over to his direction, politely ending his conversation with his colleague. "_Konnichi wa!_" he greeted as he met her halfway by the elevators.

"_Konnichi wa,_" replied Rizu begrudgingly.

"You sound kinda down. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Geiburieru furrowed his eyebrows and with a knowing smirk on his lips, he asked matter-of-factly, "Is it Beronika?"

Rizu glowered at her mentor, who shot her a demanding arched eyebrow, and let out a heavy sigh of resignation. "Yes," she mumbled. "I still can't believe that you knew she was Medetai all along!"

"I didn't know, Rizu," confessed Geiburieru, "but I had a sneaking suspicion when you started to tell me more about her. She seemed to be a good candidate, no?"

"Yes."

"And she did a fantastic job going up against Kasushiusu's demon."

"Yeah," said Rizu hesitantly. "That's why I came to see you. I kinda wanted to talk to you about that since Beronika's not here with me this time."

"Very well," said Geiburieru. "What's on your mind?"

"I don't understand how come she knew what she was doing!" began Rizu. "I mean she was brave, she didn't cry, she wasn't freaking out, and when I think back about my first battle, I acted like a complete coward!"

Looking at the archangel with curious eyes, she then asked, "How come?"

"What do you mean?"

"How come she had an idea of what to do? How did she figure out what attack to use?"

Geiburieru nodded his head sagely and replied, "I see what you're asking. Sometimes, there are those who are aware of a past life through visions and dreams. Then, there are those who don't know anything about it until they have reactivated their Seed Crystals after years—possibly centuries—of eternal slumber."

"And then there's me who doesn't remember _anything_," muttered Rizu sadly.

"All in due time, Rizu."

"But Beronika still knew what she was doing, and I made a complete fool of myself!"

It was then Geiburieru took notice of the sadness in her brown eyes. "Are you worried about something, Rizu?" he asked in a concerned voice.

"I'm starting to think that maybe she's supposed to be the leader," said Rizu as she shrugged her shoulders. "After all, I'm not cut out to be something as great like this. You saw me out there in combat _twice_ before Beronika joined me! If only you saw me the other night! I was such a crybaby when that demon went psycho on me!"

Collapsing on the nearest blue lounge chair, she dropped her messenger bag to the side and sighed heavily in defeat. "I'm such a coward," she said lowly.

Propping himself up against her chair, Geiburieru folded his arms across his chest as he looked down on his pupil and asked, "Now, why do you call yourself that?"

"Because a leader is never a crybaby," replied Rizu. "A leader is brave, strong, and doesn't give up so easily. Shinmei, I let that monster beat the shit out of me that night! Had Beronika not been there, I'd probably be dead right now!"

"You were just lucky that she was with you," assured Geiburieru softly. "Yes, Beronika does show some traits that would make her a better leader than you, but, Rizu, you have to remember you were chosen to be the leader in the first place for a reason. You might not know it now, but you will in time."

Rizu looked up at him with doubtful eyes. "I don't know, Geiburieru."

"I wouldn't have said such thing if I knew it were not true," insisted Geiburieru with a ghost of a smile on his lips. "You're a remarkable young woman, Rizu, and deep down, there's the soul of a great leader that lives inside your heart."

Stand on his feet, he offered to help her out of the chair and escort her to the exit. "So, what are you two doing tonight?" he asked.

"Beronika wants me to try out this swing club she's in," replied Rizu. "She heard from an old classmate of mine back at home that I knew some swing, and she insists that I need to get out more often."

"Has it ever occurred to you, Rizu, that she might be looking out for you, and she's just concerned about your well-being?" asked Geiburieru.

"It has crossed my mind several times."

"Then, go try it. See if you like it again. That or at least do something in your free time that you like _besides_ fighting off demons. With the exception of that little secret of yours, you simply sound like you have a dull life. Get out there and spice it up while you're still alive!"

Rizu nodded her head and flung her messenger bag over her body, allowing the strap to rest on her left shoulder. "Thanks, Geiburieru," she said with a smile before she headed out the same set of doors that she came through just minutes before.

Nearly a half-hour before the meeting began, Rizu and Beronika walked out of their room in their winter coats with their scarves around their necks. "Ready?" asked Beronika as she locked the deadbolt to their door.

"As ready as I'll ever be," muttered Rizu, slipping her right hand into the corresponding black glove.

"Oh, lighten up, Rizu!" scolded Beronika playfully. "It won't be _that_ bad!"

"Like I have a partner!"

"Well, there are some people who go stag to the meetings. Heck, I'm one of them!"

"Yeah, but everyone wants to dance with _you_."

"The more people you invite, the more chances you might get a partner you want, perhaps a certain someone named Jeison Ankokuno," said Beronika with a wink.

"If I brought him along, he'd pick you up in a heartbeat!" snorted Rizu. "I'm sorry for being such a sourpuss, but I have a history of being the last one picked."

"Understandable," said Beronika. "Maybe you'll just get lucky tonight."

_I doubt it,_ thought Rizu sadly as she followed her roommate down the staircase and out the double doors that separated her hall from the giant social lounge in the lobby.

After a long and cold trek to the church along the north-south stretch of Oukan University, the two girls entered through the side doors and walked down the main hall to a large gathering room where other university students were waiting for them. They found two empty pegs on the wall and hung their winter gear over them before making their way to the rest of the group, which included Raura and some of Beronika's other friends.

"Rizu! I'm so glad you came!" said Raura with a wave.

"I know!" exclaimed Beronika as she was pulled into the circle to catch up on the latest gossip. Looking at her other friends, she narrowed her eyes and asked haughtily, "Well, aren't you guys going to welcome Rizu?"

The others students, however, gave her roommate a curt nod without saying a word before they returned to the conversation at hand.

Rizu waved back at them with a sad smile. Although she did not show it in Beronika's presence, she felt hurt to understand that the group had only acknowledged her because of her roommate's demanding request. She started to look around for a familiar face, but she did not have to look any further when someone suddenly came up from behind and gave her a giant bear hug. "Well, it's about time you came here, Besu!"

Looking back, she saw that the person in question was none other than Jasutin himself. "Why I am not surprised to hear that you joined the Oukan University Swing Club?" she asked sardonically.

"Aw, come on, Besu! You know my family our love for swing dancing!" said the young man in embarrassment.

"Right."

Jasutin came from one of the largest religious families in Roganu. Both of his parents, two strong believers of Shinmei and Iesu, had gone through one divorce in their life with children from his father's first marriage. Jasutin, along with his older brother and sister and his younger sister, knew Rizu from their band geek days in Roganu Junior & High School's band program. Rizu enjoyed attending the local concerts in Roganu that featured his older brother's garage band until the group ended their music career due to outside circumstances, and she was involved with Girl Guides with his older sister in grade school.

The oddest thing about Jasutin's family was that all of the children had red hair except for Jasutin. He was the only child with dirty blonde hair and he was currently growing it out along with a goatee on his chin. He had always preferred to be different, and he never took his education seriously. Although his older siblings and his older half-brother attended Oukan University to pursue careers in music or education, he was the only member in his family to declare a degree in telecommunications.

"So, Besu, what are you doing here tonight?" he asked.

"Well, Beronika had been begging me to come with her just once, but after you told her that you taught me some swing moves a few years ago, she insisted that I come tonight!" replied Rizu, giving her old classmate a dirty look as if she was throwing knives into his chest.

"You know, there's always next semester," said Jasutin. "We're wrapping up east coast swing, and we'll be starting lindy hop when we get back in January."

Shrugging his shoulders, he added, "I don't know if you can pick up some of the stuff we covered so far, but if you can't, that's fine. I know I taught you some east coast swing steps, but I just don't remember what they were. If you would like, I can personally re-teach you during open swing after we're done with our meeting tonight."

"That's cool with me!" said Rizu.

"Awesome! Hey, I need to meet up with my girlfriend. I'll catch you later!"

"Later," said Rizu.

She shook her head as she watched Jasutin sneak up behind a very attractive blonde girl and cause her to nearly jump out of her skin. "That Jasutin. Always a clown," she said to herself with a chuckle.

Besides Jasutin, Rizu spotted another familiar face from her hall somewhere in the small crowd. It was Merissa, the girl who was living with her old roommate. With a wave of her hand, she called out to her, "Merissa!"

The spiky blonde-haired girl had to do a double take when she found Rizu waving at her. "Hey, Rizu!" she said, walking over to her from across the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Beronika wanted me to get involved with Swing Club. What about you? I thought you never danced!"

"I didn't until I met Jasutin," she said with a blush on her cheeks. Since her first day of university, she had formed a huge crush on not only Jasutin but also his older brother. Rizu could not blame her. The boys in Jasutin's family were all good-looking.

"Oh, I see," teased Rizu. "Even though he's taken, you're trying to get closer to him by going to Swing Club."

"I am not!" said Merissa defensively.

"Uh huh," said Rizu coolly. "I'm not buying it."

With a heavy sigh, Merissa said glumly, "Fine! You win. But a girl can only dream, right?"

Whispering into Rizu's ear, she added, "Besides, there's something about that girl he's seeing that I just don't like."

"You're just jealous that he's not with you," said Rizu with a smirk. "Merissa, give it up. You'd have a better chance with his brother."

"More like the drummer in his brother's old band," corrected Merissa. "But either way, all three guys have their eyes set on someone else."

"So, what have I missed so far?" asked Rizu, hoping to steer the conversation away from Jasutin.

"Shinmei, where do I begin? A lot?" groaned Merissa in exasperation. "But don't worry! The instructors should be teaching you the basics and a review of we learned last week. They always do."

"Alright, people!" called a blonde flamboyant senior as he pushed himself onto the stage in the room. "Let's get this party started!"

"Who's that?" asked Rizu as she leaned toward Merissa.

"That's the president of the club. The girl who will be assisting him tonight is the vice-president," explained Merissa, "and, no, they're not dating for _obvious_ reasons."

"I can imagine why."

After joining her flirty counterpart on the stage, the vice-president looked out to the crowd and said, "Welcome to another meeting of the Oukan University Swing Club!"

Several boys, including Jasutin, began to clap their hands loudly, causing the rest of the club members to do the same. The vice-president groaned and yelled over them, "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but we don't have much time to horse around! We need to get going!"

The giant roar of applause stopped, and she let out a sigh of relief under her breath. "Thank you. Now, if you're joining us for the first time, welcome to Swing Club. Like always, we'll begin with the basics: the one, two, three, four, rock-step."

"First, we need everybody to find a partner, preferably the opposite sex, and let's form three rows," ordered the president. "Leads, face the wall to my right; follows, face the windows to my left. And if you don't have a partner, wait until everyone is situated."

Rizu and Merissa began to look around for a partner, but their faces fell in disappointment when they noticed that all of their friends had someone in mind before the meeting began. Jasutin had his girlfriend, and Beronika was asked to dance with one of Raura's friends who lived on the fourth floor with Jasutin. Though there were more girls than boys in the room, several girls did not mind being paired up with another member of the fair gender.

Looking at Merissa, Rizu asked quietly, "What if we don't get a partner?"

"Well, considering that right now it's just you and me, we can either sit out or try girl-girl," replied Merissa.

As if the entire arrangement was planned out accordingly to schedule, a young man with dark hair walked into the room and tossed his coat aside on a nearby chair. Acknowledging the handsome young man, the president turned to the two girls who were left stranded. "Well, it looks like one of you ladies lucked out," he chuckled.

"Who wants to try me?" asked the young man.

Nudging Rizu on the arm, Merissa said, "Go ahead, Rizu! This is your first meeting! There's no need to sit out!"

Shrugging her shoulders, Rizu took her place in the same line with Beronika and nervously faced her attractive partner. As he watched her fidget in her spot, he gave her a bemused expression and asked, "You okay?"

"First night," she replied hastily.

"I see," he said. "Not many girls are brave enough to come out when our first unit is coming to a close."

"So I've heard," said Rizu as she began to mentally shoot herself in the foot. _And to top it off, he's wickedly sexy,_ she thought. _I just hope I don't step on his feet!_

"Leads, take your partner's hands and gently hold her by her fingers, placing your thumbs over them," instructed the president.

"Follows, make sure your arms are bent, elbows down," added the vice-president. "Now when we step off on one-two, ladies, we're going to step with our right foot because we're always—"

"Right!" replied the huge female population in the room.

"Like always."

Ignoring his partner's sexist comment, the president then gave instructions to the little sea of men. "Leads, we're going to mirror their moves, so we're going to be starting on our left foot, and then at three-four, we're going to step with our right foot."

"Follows, you'll be mirroring their moves too. So, on three-four, we're going to step with our left foot, and then at five, we're going to take a step back with the right foot, rock on it, and then take a step forward with the left foot at six."

"Leads, we're just going to do the rock-step backwards. Rock with the left foot on five, step forward with the right on six…"

"And then we're back at one," finished both instructors on the stage.

"So, let's try it!" said the vice-president.

As all the couples continued to practice the basic steps, she rushed over to the black boom box that she had brought along and put in a compact disc full of handpicked swing songs that were appropriate for east coast swing lessons. Unbeknownst to her, a demonic shadow had been lurking around the stage in the darkness during the start of the club and slithered into the microphone jack of the boom box, waiting for someone to touch one of the buttons.

Once the two instructors felt that the club members and guests were confident enough to move onto the lesson for the night, the president said to them, "Okay, people, we got a great move to show you this evening! Let's get back into our positions so we can incorporate them into the basics!"

"Actually, why don't we give a little demonstration before we teach them?" suggested the vice-president.

Shrugging his shoulders, the president replied, "Alright!"

Turning to his small group of floor instructors, he then called out, "Hey, Jasutin! Why don't you and your girl demonstrate with us?"

"Okay!" answered Jasutin as he took his girlfriend to the center of the floor.

"Should we do this with music?" asked the president.

"Why not!" answered the vice-president before she rushed over to the boom box. Just as her finger touched the 'play' button, she felt a strange sensation of dark energy being absorbed into her body.

Several people watched her go into a convulsion, but once the violent shaking had stopped, the president reached over and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

To everyone's horror, the vice-president turned around only to reveal a demonic face as her skin began to turn lavender, and her blonde hair suddenly changed into a bright shade of orange. She summoned a black microphone into her right hand and plugged it into the boom box, sending musical notes and waves of dark energy all around the room as she sang off-key. Those who heard the horrible singing suddenly collapsed on the floor, and a mirror ball magically appeared to collect the souls of the she-demon's victims.

When she halted her singing, the she-demon spotted Rizu and Beronika still standing on their feet in the sea of unconscious students. They were quick enough to block her attack by covering their ears with the palm of their hands. "How did you manage to get away from my spell?" she sang angrily.

"Beronika?" asked Rizu, pulling out her _henshin_ pen from her pants pocket.

"I'm already there, Rizu!" replied Beronika with a smirk as she grabbed hers from her sweatshirt pocket. "Let's get her!"

"_Tamashii!_"

"_Medetai!_"

Within seconds of their complete transformation, Tamashii and Medetai stood in the two mortal girls' places with angry eyes of brown piercing into the black orbs of the she-demon. "And who are you?" sang the she-demon.

"I'm Tamashii, the Angelic Guardian of the Soul and the Light!" replied Tamashii.

"And I'm Medetai, the Angelic Guardian of Joy and the Stars!" added Medetai.

"Why do you pathetic Angelic Guardians always have to ruin my plans?" groaned Kasushiusu from the stage as he appeared next to his creation.

"I should have known you were up to something, Kasushiusu!" growled Tamashii.

"And I should have known you'd meddle your way into my business!"

Before he disappeared to let his servant destroy his two adversaries, he said to the she-demon, "Make sure these party crashers get what they deserve, Karaokina, or else Master Myoujou isn't going to like this."

"You're going to pay for interfering with my job!" sang Karaokina as she turned up the volume on the boom box. "Let's see if you can escape this!"

As she belted out a G-sharp, the two Angelic Guardians fell onto their knees with their hands covering their ears, crying out in agony from Karaokina's piercing voice. "Somebody stop her singing!" screamed Tamashii.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Medetai's head when she looked up toward the coat rack on the wall and found two fuzzy earmuffs lying on the ground. "That's it!" she exclaimed before she rushed over and grabbed a pair for herself and another pair for Tamashii.

Tossing the hot pink earmuffs to her companion, she said, "Try these on and see if they can at least tone down that noise!"

Tamashii slipped on her earmuffs and discovered that her ears were now somewhat cushioned from Karaokina's brutal attack. "Nice thinking!" she said to Medetai with a thumb up of approval.

"That's not fair!" sang the she-demon in frustration. "Now you're making me angry! Rise, my pretties!"

At her command, which was sung at an A-sharp, eyes of the soulless students suddenly snapped open as they rose onto their feet like zombies out of a horror movie and slowly trudged their way toward Tamashii and Medetai. From the stage, Karaokina released the vice-president from her body and allowed her to join the other students.

"Eek!" screeched Tamashii. "This is so creepy!"

"And we can't hurt them either!" said Medetai.

From the sea of controlled victims, a soulless Raura jumped out of the crowd and latched onto Medetai, pinning the purple _senshi_ onto the wooden floor. Looking up at her friend, Medetai noticed that the girl's eyes were a dark shade of brown without a hint emotion in their depths. "Raura," she said sadly. "No, they can't do this to you!"

"Medetai!" cried Tamashii as she watched her friend's soul slowly being sucked away by the possessed redhead above. She turned her head and looked at Karaokina in disgust. She was not going to let that monster have her roommate and make her one of her slaves if she could help it.

Pushing her way through the crowd that was closing in on her, she broke free from their grasps and summoned her bow and arrow into her hands. Quickly taking aim at her target, she drew back the string to her ear and focused on Karaokina. "I've got you now!" she said.

"Wait! What are you doing?" sang Karaokina. She was utterly shocked that the pink _senshi_ made it past her minions, and she was now feeling defenseless after using all of her tricks.

"Eternal Damnation!" cried out Tamashii as she let go of the arrow and watched the golden tip disintegrated the lavender she-demon into a pile of a light purple dust. Behind her left shoulder, the students stopped in their tracks and collapsed onto the floor with Raura falling on top of Medetai. The mirror ball above them suddenly shattered into pieces as a mass of stolen energy fell everywhere to restore all that had been lost.

"Yuck!" grimaced Medetai as she pushed aside Raura's cold body to stand up, climbing over the pool of unconscious students to catch up with her roommate. "That was some battle!" she said.

"I'd say so!" nodded Tamashii in agreement. "Come on! We need to change before people start questioning us."

There was quite of a buzz going about the club when Rizu and Beronika emerged from the women's restroom, but since no one really noticed their absence, they were able to go along with the others' story. Yet, nobody was able to explain how thirty minutes had gone by without accomplishing anything for the night.

After the club had finished the open swing hour, the two girls walked back to their home feeling somewhat tired from a long and strenuous meeting. "I'm beat," said Rizu with a loud yawn.

"Same here," said Beronika. "So, aside from that she-demon, did you like Swing Club?"

"It was cool," said Rizu dreamily with a smile. "I was able to dance with a cute guy, so I'm happy with that!"

"Yeah, but it's a shame he's taken," teased Beronika.

She burst out into pearls of laughter after she watched Rizu's face fall in an instant and said, "Oh, don't worry, Rizu! I'm sure there'll be other choices that you might flirt around with and get by without a problem!"

"All the more reasons for me to invite Jeison?" asked Rizu.

"Of course."

As they walked down the incline in front of the entrance to their residence complex, they spotted Geiburieru sitting on a mounted bench against the brick wall of the building. "Congratulations on your performance tonight, ladies!" he said.

"Thanks, Geiburieru. That Karaokina was something," said Rizu.

"Yeah! She even turned our friends into zombies and used them against us!" added Beronika with a nod.

"So I heard," said the archangel coolly.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you done for the day?"

"I am, but I just received word that there's another Angelic Guardian who is ready to be awaken."

Clearing his throat, he then added in a serious tone of voice, "Shinmei needs you two to find Iinaka, the third Angelic Guardian."

"Iinaka?" asked the two girls in unison.

"Yes, Iinaka," replied Geiburieru. "You must find her while the current semester is still in full swing. It is vital that this happens before you leave for the holidays, and that's only several weeks away."

"But how do we find her?" asked Rizu.

"The same way as you found Medetai. Good luck, ladies. I know you can do it."

With a dismissive bow, he vanished into thin air and left the two Angelic Guardians feeling curious about their new mission. "Well, you heard him," said Beronika.

"Yeah, but where to start now?" asked Rizu as she remembered that those who did believe in Shinmei were not always a Chosen One like herself.

Was that not how she made her mistake in her search for Medetai in the first place?


	10. Chapter Nine

**Author's Choice Song:** Even though this isn't quite the holiday season for Rizu and company, I thought "Let Your Love Flow" by the Bellamy Brothers (or if you wish to get techno, Alan Connor's version is pretty amazing) would be perfect. I guess Megu would agree with me on that since this is _her_ chapter.

Chapter Nine

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire! Megu Hino Is the Red Hot Iinaka!

That night, Tamashii walked through her dream world carrying the red velvet box that Geiburieru had given to her when she began her search for Medetai. Light snow fell from the aurora sky above her, and she saw her reflection on the surface of the frozen lake to her right. She continued to walk on the snow-covered path until she came across a weeping willow tree that overlooked the lake. She had a strange fascination for willows, for she was born under the sign of the willow in Celtic astrology, and she had a feeling that Shinmei might have intentionally planted the beautiful tree in her dream world.

She sat beneath the frostbitten branches and rested her head against the cold bark as she watched the long strands of green leaves blow in the gentle breeze amidst the snowflakes. "So beautiful," she murmured to herself.

She looked down at the music box in her hands and with a turn of the cross key, she opened the lid and took out the red _henshin_ pen that belonged to Iinaka. She was startled for a moment when Iinaka's holographic image appeared above the pen, but she examined the small figure carefully and noticed something peculiar about the third Angelic Guardian.

Iinaka was either a very athletic _senshi_ or one with a fast metabolism, but she was rather short to be fighting demons. _Strange,_ thought Tamashii as she glanced up into the bright sky. _I feel like I know her, but from where?_

When Rizu woke up with Iinaka's _henshin_ pen in her right hand the following morning, Beronika noticed the strange object as she climbed down the steps at the foot of their loft. "So that's how you receive the pens!" she said in awe.

"I guess," shrugged Rizu. "Now I get to look for a needle in a haystack again."

"I'll help!" said Beronika.

"Yeah, but there's one pen, and we're in two different places during the day. Plus, I alone was given this mission by receiving the pen in the first place. _I_ have to have it on me at all times for protection. If anything, you can help me when you're done with your classes."

Beronika nodded her head in understanding. "Gotcha," she said.

The search started to drag on and on, and Rizu came up short every night before she went to bed. Even when Beronika assisted her, they noticed that Iinaka's _henshin_ pen remained dull throughout their search. Beronika had secretly wanted Raura to be a Chosen One, but Rizu knew it was not meant to be.

December arrived a week later, but the two Angelic Guardians were too busy studying for their finals to notice the change. Winter usually came early in that particular region of Japan, and many students were already grumbling about the cold weather. The coffeehouse in the Village was packed every morning with customers asking for hot drinks, and several sororities and fraternities took turns selling hot cocoa on the corner of the scramble light during the school week.

From behind the glass window of their room, Rizu and Beronika would occasionally stop their reading and watch the small snowflakes fall from the gray sky. But it was Rizu who had become too entranced with the wintry beauty outside and stared absentmindedly at the flurries. A soft sigh escaped from her lips one day as she forced her eyes to return to the book in her hands.

Beronika glanced at her from the other side of their desk and chuckled to herself. Rizu's ears perked at her laughter, and her head snapped up at attention. "What's so funny?" she demanded.

"I have never met anyone who is intrigued by the winter like you," replied Beronika with a small smile. "Why do you like it so much?"

"I just do. I like the cold, and I think the snow's pretty. If only we could have it year-round!"

"Okay, so maybe you're crazy after all!" laughed Beronika before she shielded herself from a ball of paper that was thrown at her face.

"Well, which season do you prefer?" asked Rizu with a snort.

"I personally like spring. Everything is so alive when the snow melts away! You can hear the birds' songs in the trees, you can smell the flowers in full bloom, and you can enjoy the sun shining down on you in the clear, blue sky. It's such a joyful time of the year!"

"And I thought Christmas was," joked Rizu.

"I do like Christmas! In fact, that's my favorite holiday other than Easter."

Rizu shot a look of surprise at her with an arched eyebrow. "Why Easter? The chocolates?"

"And the bunnies!" said Beronika. "Don't forget the bunnies!"

"How could I forget?" muttered Rizu with a roll of her eyes. "But Christmas?"

Beronika shrugged her shoulders and replied, "It's the season of giving. I like to bake cookies and make small gift bags for everyone I care for, even my best friends!"

Lowering her eyes, she frowned as she added softly, "But then again, I doubt I'll do anything of the sort this year."

Rizu placed her textbook aside and cocked her head in confusion. "What makes you say that?" she asked. "You got friends, especially Raura!"

"I know I do," replied Beronika as she pulled up her legs and wrapped her arms around them to rest her chin on her kneecaps. "But there are so many, and I only have so much money. And then there's you, Rizu! I can't forget about you or Geiburieru!"

"Well, haven't you thought about doing something different this year?" suggested Rizu. "I was thinking about inviting Jeison and Megu over sometime before we have to go home for the holidays. You know, like pizza and a movie!"

"But, Rizu, you don't have that much money, and you need to save some for gas!"

"Did I say I was _ordering_ pizza?" asked Rizu with a wink. "I can make it homemade! All I need to do is to run out to the supermarket and pick up some ingredients. Want to come with me later this afternoon?"

Beronika felt the corners of her mouth twitch upward into a smile as she nodded her head in reply. "You bet!" she said.

"KASUSHIUSU!"

Myoujou's deep voice shook the walls throughout the ninth ring of Hell as he summoned his demonic commander into his presence. He was very displeased with him after losing to Tamashii multiple times, and his patience was getting thin by the minute.

Kasushiusu stepped out of the shadows and knelt in front of the demonic throne with his white head bowed to the floor. He felt the wrath of the Dark Demon lingering over him, and he had a gut feeling that this could be the end for him.

If it was not, he would be damn lucky by the skin of his teeth.

"You failed me again!" hissed Myoujou.

Kasushiusu flinched inwardly as what blood he had left turned cold in a matter of milliseconds. "I'm sorry, Master," he mumbled.

"What do you think is causing your demons to lose these petty battles, Kasushiusu?" asked Myoujou. "Perhaps you're not training them properly."

"These demons are well trained and fit to destroy Tamashii and Medetai!" insisted Kasushiusu as he looked up Myoujou.

"So, why haven't they?" growled the red beast, his black eyes gazing coldly at him.

Kasushiusu gulped as fear racked his body. "I—" he began.

But he was quickly cut off by a disgusted sigh from Myoujou. "Never mind that. I'm giving you a new assignment concerning about the third Angelic Guardian, and I expect success, not failure."

"Yes, Master," replied Kasushiusu with a bow.

After receiving the invitation from their two friends, Jeison and Megu decided that the following Sunday evening would be the best time to see Rizu and Beronika before the holidays. They walked over to the girls' residence complex from the parking garage by the library that snowy night and were greeted with friendly hugs in the fishbowl lobby. "Hey, you guys!" said Jeison warmly as he embraced Rizu. He looked up for a moment to sneak a wink at Beronika and then said, "Hey, Beronika."

But Beronika was not amused with his flirting. _Does he ever give up?_ she thought in exasperation as she rolled her eyes.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" asked Megu. "Jeison was telling me something about having pizza and a movie?"

"Yup!" replied Rizu. "I got some fixings for homemade pizza upstairs in the kitchenette if you guys want to help!"

"Sure!" said Jeison and Megu, following their hosts to their destination.

They took up the entire kitchenette that was located next to Rizu's residence assistant's room. Pizza toppings, sauce, and flour were scattered everywhere on the cooking counter. Rizu carefully prepared the dough by mixing in three bags of pizza crust mix and less than two cups of hot water, letting it to sit for at least five minutes. She allowed her friends to spread the dough onto a cookie sheet with hands covered in floor and add whatever toppings they wanted on their pizza.

After Rizu had placed the cookie sheet into the oven to bake for several minutes, they sat on the floor and waited for the timer to go off. "So, what have you two been up to lately?" asked Beronika.

"Well, my sorority just had our holiday gala last night," began Megu. "It was so amazing! We raised quite a bit of money for the cancer awareness program that the hospital is funding!"

"How much did you bring in?" asked Rizu.

"Over one thousand yen."

"That's a lot!" breathed Beronika.

"My sisters and I each donated at least twenty-five yen. Our brothers in the fraternity that Jeison likes gave another twenty-five yen," explained Megu. "The rest came from the pillars of our community, including the president of Oukan University!"

"Damn!" exclaimed Rizu.

"I know!"

"What about you, Jeison?" asked Beronika.

"Same old, you know!" he answered. "School, church, and work."

"No girlfriend?" asked Rizu playfully.

"I do have my eye on one girl," said Jeison as he looked at Beronika with a wink. She huffed and shot him a dirty look in return.

"Well, you might want to be careful around her," warned Rizu. "Otherwise, you'll be back to the old drawing board."

"No worries. I'll win her heart!" boasted Jeison.

"Sure," muttered Beronika.

She then thought with a soft sigh, _When will he ever learn?_

The timer on the stove buzzed loudly a few minutes later, and the group carried the pizza and the cooking supplies back to the girls' room. There, they had their dinner as they played a card game that Rizu was taught by her family. After one fun and interesting round, Jeison and Megu wanted to play again.

Following the card game, they spent several hours watching an American comedy movie that had been dubbed in Japanese. Halfway into the movie, Rizu noticed that Jeison had his arm around a rather frustrated Beronika as they propped themselves against the deep purple pillows on her bunk. A pang of jealousy struck her heart, and she started to secretly wish that she was the girl in Jeison's embrace and not her roommate, even though Beronika made it clear that she had no interest in him.

Shaking her head, Rizu turned her attention back to the movie and took a bite out of her pizza as she tried to shake off the lonely feeling that was building up inside her.

When the movie had ended, Jeison jumped off of Beronika's bed and gracefully landed on his feet before he helped Beronika down. "Hey, guys, I have an idea! Why don't we go to the hotdog man in the Village?" he suggested, noticing that it was only thirty minutes until midnight according to the clock on the microwave.

"In this weather?" asked Rizu.

"Well, yeah! He comes out regardless of the snow and the rain!"

"Are you sure he's going to be out?"

"I'm positive!"

"You were saying?" grumbled Rizu through clattering teeth as she stood in line with Jeison, Megu, Beronika and other students across the street from the Village Pizzeria.

Jeison checked his digital watch when he suddenly heard a little beeping noise going off from his left wrist. "He should be here by now," he said. "It's now midnight!"

Beronika buried her lower half of her face into her cream scarf as she felt a cold breeze sting her cheeks. "Maybe he's sick or something," she said, "or maybe he's smart enough to stay home."

"Jeison's right," said Megu. "He's usually out around this time, and he has been known to operate in the cold."

"But what's taking him this long?" asked Rizu impatiently. "I'm freezing, and all I really want right now is some hot cocoa from the coffeehouse!"

"And you said you like winter," snickered Beronika from behind her scarf.

"I do!" said Rizu. "But I also like to stay warm while I'm out in the cold!"

"Now you tell me!"

They waited a few more minutes and began to hear the groans and the complaints from the other students in line. The wind gradually picked up, and the snowflakes started to fall into a heavy snow shower.

And there was still no sign of the hotdog man.

"That's it!" grumbled Rizu, as she wriggled her nose to shake off a snowflake that had landed on the tip. "I'm going back to the dorm and put some heat in my body! All I'm doing right now is turning into a giant human iceberg just by standing here for nothing!"

Just as she turned on her heels to return to her complex, she felt Megu's hand reaching out to grab her by her blue and green plaid scarf and pull her back into the line. "Not so fast, missy!" said the redhead. "He's finally here!"

The students saw the familiar hotdog cart coming up the sidewalk with the hotdog man himself behind it. His face was hidden from their view behind his blue winter cap and his heavy black scarf, but his customers were still able to hear his voice.

As soon as he had reached the corner of the street where the line began, he hung a sign in front of his cart that read, "One-Time Special Tonight! Get 2 Hotdogs for the Price of 1!"

"What a deal!" exclaimed Jeison.

"But wouldn't he be making less of a profit?" asked Rizu. "And why would he be having a special at a time like this? It's not like this is the end of the school year!"

"Rizu's right," agreed Megu, taking her friend's observation into consideration. "I've known this man for years, and he's never _ever_ had something like this unless he was promoting the annual fair!"

Beronika nodded her head in agreement and sensed something evil within the hotdog man as he began to serve two hotdogs to every student. Instinctively, she reached her hand into her coat pocket and took hold of her _henshin_ pen. "I don't like the looks of it myself," she muttered to herself.

It was then that the quartet noticed something strange was happening. The students before them had quickly devoured their two hotdogs and went to the back of the line behind Rizu for more. It was not just a handful of students; it was _every_ student that was in front of them! No one left the street corner to go home, and no one dared to buy one and only one hotdog.

That was until Jeison realized that he was not really hungry for two hotdogs, and he had no intentions on eating one and taking the other home. He knew that these hotdogs in particular were best if they were eaten immediately. Since he had one yen bill in his wallet and since he had no desire to buy four for the price of two that night, he decided to only have one.

When he came to the front of the line to buy a hotdog, he told the man, "One please."

Under normal circumstances, the hotdog man was friendly about someone wanting to purchase just one hotdog, but on that night, his attitude was completely the opposite. "What do you mean you only want _one_? Why not _two_?" he snapped.

"Well, I—"

"Go back home, you little whippersnapper!" barked the hotdog man. "Next!"

Megu approached him with a yen bill in her hand, but because she, too, was not hungry for two hotdogs after eating so much pizza, she decided to order one instead. "And if you could," she added, "would you please put some ketchup, mustard—"

"Why don't you buy two hotdogs instead of one?" interrupted the hotdog man. "Isn't that why I have a special going tonight? Why must you kids have to be so difficult? Next!"

Rizu and Beronika felt a dark presence coming from the other students, and they noticed their strange behavior toward Jeison and Megu's rejection. "This can't be good," murmured Rizu as she nodded her head at the students. "I've never seen them act like this before. Are you thinking what I'm thinking, B?"

"If it has anything to do with Myoujou, you bet!" nodded Beronika in agreement. "Got the other pen with you?"

"Yup," answered Rizu as she lifted the small purse that was dangling off of her right arm. "Let's hope Iinaka comes out tonight."

They walked up to the cart together and asked for one hotdog. The man happily obliged as he put two hotdogs on one giant sheet of aluminum foil. "Here you go, ladies," he said pleasantly.

"Oh, but we were going to pay separate," said Beronika. "We only wanted one for each of us."

The man's right eye began to twitch in anger, and he crushed the hotdog buns in his huge right hand, sending the two wieners flying into the air. "You what?" he growled in a low, threatening voice. "You wanted to pay _separately_?"

"Well, yeah," answered Rizu.

"We'll just see about that!" cackled the hotdog man. Pointing his finger at the four students, he called out to the others, "Get them, my minions!"

Rizu and her three friends soon found themselves surrounded by their mind-controlled peers, and several of the brainwashed students grabbed links of hotdogs to restrain them and force them to eat as many wieners as they cold. They had no way of escaping as the sea of bodies closed in on them. "What are we going to do?" asked Megu.

"I have an idea!" said Jeison.

Pushing himself through the mob, he fled from the scene and left the girls to fend for themselves. "I'll call the cops to put an end to this! Try and fight them off!"

"You're such a coward, you know that?" called Rizu.

"But how can we fight them?" asked Megu frantically as she took in her surroundings with wide eyes of fear. "They're… They're only students!"

Beronika looked at each possessed student closely and then glanced at the hotdog links in their hands. One student began to munch on his link without any intentions on stopping, and she noticed a strange golden hue in his eyes with each bite he took. "Gluttony!" she murmured.

"What?" asked the other two girls in confusion.

"Gluttony, you guys!" she repeated. "These hotdogs contain some kind of curse that would make these students gluttons if they ate just one. That would explain why they wanted more and why the hotdog man was serving two for the price of one hotdog. By having a second hotdog available, he was guaranteed to have a customer under his spell so he could steal our energy!"

"Why does he want our energy?" asked Megu.

"Because he's after this!" replied Rizu as she pulled out her _henshin_ pen from her coat pocket. Unaware of what she had done, she accidentally dropped her purse at her feet and exposed Iinaka's _henshin_ pen for all to see.

"Wow! Way cool!" exclaimed Megu as she looked at Rizu's magical object. "Where did you get that, Rizu?"

"It's a long story," said Rizu with a wink. "Ready, Beronika?"

"Ready when you are," answered Beronika.

"Let's do it! _Tamashii!_"

"_Medetai!_"

Megu and the other students shielded their eyes from the blinding pink and purple lights, but when the brightness had dimmed, they noticed that instead of Rizu and Beronika standing in the circle, they were now looking at Tamashii and Medetai. "Amazing!" she breathed.

"You!" hissed the hotdog man. "I should have known you two were lurking around here!"

"Really! Hotdogs? Is that the best you can do?" snorted Tamashii.

"Sorry, demon, but the game is over!" said Medetai. "We're here to put an end on your two-for-one deal!"

"How wickedly cool!" squealed Megu in delight. "I got friends who are superheroes!"

"Yeah, but blurt it out to the entire world, why don't you?" grimaced Tamashii.

"Nice work, Furankufuruto!"

Appearing next to the possessed hotdog man, Kasushiusu smiled in delight as he noticed his two adversaries being trapped by their peers. His cold silver eyes caught sight of the red _henshin_ pen that was lying on the cement next to Tamashii's left boot. "I'll take that," he said as he began to summon the magical wand into his right hand.

"No, you won't!" argued Medetai. "Shooting Star!"

As a gold star flew at him, Kasushiusu cried out in pain and quickly pulled his hand away. "Damn you, Angelic Guardians!" he growled. "That pen belongs to me!"

"I don't think so!" said Tamashii. "We got a mission to do, and we won't let you stop us!"

"So be it, insolent brat! I'm not too concerned about finding your other friend anyway. There _are_ bigger fish out there to catch, but she would have been great for Master Myoujou in any case!"

Turning to the hotdog man before he vanished into thin air, Kasushiusu barked at him, "Finish them off, Furankufuruto! I'm tired of dealing with their meddling!"

"With pleasure!" cackled the hotdog man.

He suddenly howled in pain as he felt himself being separated from the demon within his body, falling unconscious on the cement next to his hotdog cart.

The demon himself walked over his mortal vessel and stood in front of the three girls with an evil smirk on his face. He was nothing more than a mutated wiener demon with hotdog buns for padding on his elbows and knees and as a utility belt around his red waist. Instead of claws, he had hands in the form of condiment dispensers—his right was a red bottle of ketchup and his left was a yellow bottle of mustard.

Looking at the two Angelic Guardians, he smiled devilishly and crowed, "Your hotdogs look like they could use something tasty! How about some mustard?"

Shooting the yellow ooze from his left dispenser, he covered Tamashii and Medetai head to toe, forcing them to severely lower their defense and decrease their accuracy. "Ew! I _hate_ mustard!" whined Tamashii as the yellow condiment dripped from her hair.

"Would you like some ketchup with that?" cackled Furankufuruto before he sprayed blotches of ketchup from his right dispenser.

Screaming and wailing at the top of their lungs, the duo landed flat on their bottoms in heaps of mustard and ketchup. They tried to get back onto their feet, but they kept slipping onto the cement, for the sidewalk was too slick with little traction for their boots.

Megu caught a glimpse of the strange _henshin_ pen that was lying near Rizu's purse while her friends were being assaulted by the wiener demon. "I wonder why that blue creep wanted this," she said aloud as she bent down to pick it up. As her hand drew closer to the object, the crystal at the top of the pen began to glow brightly.

Tamashii looked over her shoulder to find Megu picking up Iinaka's pen and cried, "No, Megu! Put it back!"

But it was too late. Power surged through the young girl's body, and all she could hear was the sound of Shinmei's deep voice speaking to her, "Welcome home, Iinaka."

Megu looked at the pen and nodded her head before she cried out, "_Iinaka!_"

A flash of flames trapped her inside a blazing vortex until her transformation was complete. Standing in Megu's place was now a short woman with sleek shoulder-length hair pulled back into a ponytail with a red scrunchy. She wore a similar outfit like Medetai but in red silk and rubies.

"I can't believe it!" said Tamashii.

"Megu was Iinaka all this time!" breathed Medetai.

"And just who do you think you are?" asked Furankufuruto.

"With blessings of Love from the Fire, I am Iinaka!" replied the new Angelic Guardian as she cast a sneer at Furankufuruto. "I won't forgive you for your wicked ways! Prepare to be roasted!"

"We'll see about that!" snorted the wiener demon. To the possessed students, he then ordered, "Get them!"

Tamashii and Medetai looked around them and saw that the mob was starting to cave in on them again, but Iinaka had another plan. Magically summoning a fireball shaped like a volleyball in her left palm, she levitated it over her head and cried out, "Flame Spike!"

Her right hand smacked the back of the flaming object and hurled it into the face of Furankufuruto. "Ow!" cried the demon in pain as he felt the fireball singe his right cheek. "Why you little—"

"Now, Tamashii!"

Tamashii nodded her head before she summoned her bow and arrow into her hands. "Medetai, see if you can drive the smaller demons out of the students with something similar to your Shooting Star attack. It's going to take more than just one star to do the trick," she said to her purple companion as she drew the string of her bow back toward her ear, taking aim at the bigger demon.

"You got it!" replied Medetai.

Pointing her forefingers in the shape of a gun at her peers, she shot a blast of gold stars as she cried out, "Shooting Star Blast!"

Tamashii's plan had successfully worked as minor demons were exorcised from the students' bodies and dissolved into nothing, causing their victims to collapse onto the sidewalk.

"No! No! No!" hissed Furankufuruto angrily. "You can't be doing this to me!"

"Oh, yes, we can!" argued Tamashii. With one brown eye closed and the tip of her arrow pointed at her target, she cried out, "Eternal Damnation!"

She released the bowstring from her fingers, and the wiener demon soon felt pain as the arrow made contact with his stomach. He screamed at the top of his lungs before he dissolved into a pile of red dust and released all the energy that he had stolen from that night.

"Nice work, Tamashii!" praised Iinaka.

"Had it not been for your curiosity, we could have lost this battle," said Tamashii with a small smile. "If anything, we should be thanking you."

"I'd love to celebrate a little more and all, you guys, but can we de-transform now?" begged Medetai, pointing to the sticky orange mess in her brown hair. "I kinda look like I just came out from a food fight in the cafeteria."

Standing in the alley behind the local coffeehouse in the Village, Rizu and Beronika thought it would be best to talk to Megu about her new destiny before she came running up to them with dozens of questions. Although they thought she was amazing during the battle, she was starting to have some doubts about being Iinaka. "I really don't know if I can do this," she said sincerely. "I'm not a huge follower of Shinmei!"

"Neither was I!" said Beronika. "I didn't even imagine myself fighting with Rizu here either! But I accepted what I was chosen to be."

"And how did you think I felt when Geiburieru told me who I was?" asked Rizu. "Megu, we are still entitled to have doubts. We are only human. Sometimes, we don't understand what Shinmei wants from us, but there are other times when we're not supposed to know in the first place. That's just how Shinmei is!"

Megu looked at the _henshin_ pen in her hand with a small frown on her face. "But I still don't know why he picked me when there are more qualified people out there," she said sadly.

"Rizu is right, Megu," said a familiar voice from the shadows.

Under the streetlamp across from them, Geiburieru, now in his angelic robes, appeared out of the darkness and into the light as light snow fell from the sky and covered his soft wings. "You were chosen for a reason," he said. "Your friendly personality and your good heart matched those of Iinaka herself. You have a loving nature that will never die as long as you believe in the power of love."

"Are you an angel?" asked Megu in amazement.

"Yes, I am. I am the archangel Geiburieru, messenger of Shinmei. My King and I have watched you and the others for a long time, and I know that you have trouble believing in love from all your past experiences. But trust me, Megu, it will be good to you in the end. Now with that in mind, I want to you promise me something."

"What?"

"That you will never give up on love."

Looking at her two friends, Megu nodded her head and replied, "Yeah. I promise."

"Good," answered Geiburieru. Looking up at Rizu and Beronika, he added with a twinkle in his blue eyes, "Looks like you girls got a new member on your team."

"What?" asked Megu. "Wait a minute! I never agreed to be on a team!"

"No, but you agreed to carry out Iinaka's purpose by giving me that promise," said the archangel with a sly smile. "I had to get you to consent somehow."

"You tricked me!" whined Megu.

"Geiburieru means no harm," assured Beronika.

"But I don't know if I want to be your teammate."

"Megu, we're all Angelic Guardians," said Rizu softly, placing her right hand over the shorter girl's left shoulder. "We're the same, even though we might have different ideas. As you saw tonight, we're more powerful when we are one. Please, Megu, don't turn us away. While we may think that we need you, the person that we need really need is Iinaka."

Glancing at her _henshin_ pen one more time, she glanced up at her friends and said with a quick nod, "Yeah, you're right! We do great as a team. Why should I fight alone when I have you two?"

"Oh, Megu!" cried Beronika as she embraced her in a warm hug. "Thanks!"

"You girls better be getting back to your dorm very soon," said Geiburieru.

"Why?" asked Rizu.

Before the archangel could reply, they heard Jeison's voice in the distance from the other side of the building. Looking back at their mentor for help, they soon found him missing in action. "Did he just disappear?" asked Megu.

"I believe so," replied Rizu. "Come on! We need to get out of here!"

Just as the trio began to walk back to Rizu and Beronika's complex, Jeison came around from the corner and stopped them in their tracks. "And just where do you think you ladies are going?" he asked.

"We're going to our dorm?" squeaked Rizu.

"Not until you talk to the police," said Jeison as he jerked his thumb at the direction of the two police cars. "They want to know what happened back there, and since you three saw it all, you got some explaining to do."

Gulping loudly, Megu looked at Rizu and asked, "What are you going to tell them?"

"The truth," answered Rizu.

"You what?" asked her two friends in surprise.

"Just follow my lead."

Jeison gave them a strange look as they walked past him to talk to the policemen, thinking that they might have had one too many blows to the head, but he shrugged the possibility off and followed them without saying a word. _It's not like they defeated a possessed hotdog man by themselves,_ he thought.

_Or _did_ they?_

Ten minutes later, the two police chiefs that were investigating the incident listened the last of Rizu's story. Once she had finished, they looked at each other and then back at the girls. "Are you sure you saw these… _superheroines_ fighting a hotdog demon that controlled this man's body?" asked the white police chief, pointing to the body of the hotdog man next to him.

"We're sure!" replied Beronika.

"You think we're crazy, don't you?" accused Megu defensively with her hands on her hips. "We swear, officers, we didn't drink too much. Hell, we didn't drink at all!"

"You've got to believe us!" pleaded Rizu.

"We have heard reports of one of these crime-fighters, or demon-fighters, from before—er, the pink one, I believe," said the olive-skinned police chief. "The other two must have been recruited as of late."

"How long have you known about these girls?" asked Rizu, feeling a bit wary from what she had heard.

"Well, the pink one we've known about for a long time since the night of the attack in the dance department a while ago. We questioned some of the dancers who were attacked by that particular demon, and according to our surveillance cameras in the building, there was indeed a pink superheroine fighting some kind of monster that night. The purple and the red ones sound fairly new to us."

"So, are you going to do anything about these mysterious girls?" asked Megu.

"Why should we?" snorted the white police chief. "They're doing our jobs by taking out these monsters! It's not like we can't press charges against them for saving Oukan University! If anything, we should thank them!

"Well, ladies, I think you're free to go. Thank you for your help."

"No, thank you, officers," said Rizu with a bow, motioning the others to do the same before they walked away to join Jeison on the other side of the road next to The Village Pizzeria.

The walk to the residence complex was fairly quiet. None of the girls dared to speak about the actual truth with their surfer friend in their presence. Jeison, on the other hand, overheard bits and pieces of the conversation they had with the police officers, but he said nothing as they trudged their way through the light snow shower. Occasionally, he would look down at Rizu with a grim expression, and his thoughts slowly began to drift toward her. He felt that there was something not right about her, something strange about her, and it left him puzzled.

_Superheroines,_ he mused to himself. _Since when did Oukan have superheroines around? And how come Rizu and the girls know about them and I don't?_

As they came across the main street that ran along her home, Rizu noticed that Jeison was staring intensely at her. "Uh, Jeison? You okay?" she asked.

He snapped out of his thoughts and quickly looked away. "Yeah, Rizu. I'm fine," he replied coolly. "I guess I zoned out while I was thinking about some stuff. Didn't mean to look at you at the same time."

Rizu frowned in disappointment. She knew that he was slightly suspicious during her interrogation with the campus police. From the corner of her brown eyes, she was aware of him standing on the corner and eavesdropping on the conversation.

Jeison was far from being stupid. He might not have appeared to be the brightest bulb of the group, especially whenever he was going after a girl like Beronika, but he knew how to put one and one together. It worried Rizu so much that she was fairly certain he would look into this demon attack a little closer once the holidays were over.

If Jeison was anything like Beronika, he was going to crack the mystery that was the three Angelic Guardians of Oukan University.

The more she thought about the possibility of being caught, the more she felt a dark, mysterious aura radiating from him with each step she took. It attracted her greatly like a magnet, which just added more fuel to the burning interest she had for him within her heart, but it also scared her at the same time.

Her eyes quickly glanced up at his long enough to spot something unusual, something that did not make him the Jeison Ankokuno that she knew. The intense burning in his blue-hazel eyes twinkled with determination, and Rizu knew that her friend had his mind set on something besides Beronika.

Still, she could not shake off the dark energy waves that tingled her spine senseless no matter how much she wanted to ignore it. Even his determined eyes had a hint of darkness behind the irises. _Weird,_ she thought. _Jeison is _never_ dark. He's a follower of Shinmei, so why would he have a dark side? He never had it before, and it's almost as if he can see right through me. Does he even know that I'm lying?_

When they had finally reached the front entrance of the residence complex, everyone began to exchange farewells and best of wishes for a safe holiday. "You guys be careful," said Beronika.

"The same to you and Rizu," said Megu with a wink. "Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas to you too!"

Just as he started to escort Megu back to the parking garage, Rizu called to Jeison, "Wait a minute, Jeison! I want to talk to you!"

He looked at his best friend, who gave her nod of approval, and walked over to Rizu with a concerned look on his face. He noticed that Beronika had gone inside the building and that he was now left alone outside with Rizu. _This better not be what I think it is,_ he thought. "What is it, Rizu?"

"Well," she began hesitantly. "It's kinda hard to tell you…"

_Come on! Just tell him, Rizu!_

Jeison cocked his head to the side as he watched the young woman before him quickly look down at her, pretending to be interested with the ice on the sidewalk as she scraped her shoe on the cold surface. "Rizu," he urged softly.

Taking a deep breath, she lifted her head to continue her thought, but her bravery suddenly escaped from her, and she blurted out in a voice full of regret, "I'm sorry! I forgot what I was about to say!"

_You _baka!_ You just had to blow your chance, didn't you? Why don't you just say it? "Jeison, I think you're cute, and I want to know if you had any feelings for me." That's not so hard now, is it?_

Jeison lowered his eyes as he realized that his assumption about Rizu's motive was correct, and he began to walk away from her to keep himself from making her cry with his rejection. "Look, I need to get going and take Megu home," he said coolly, "but if you remember whatever it was that you wanted to tell me, leave it in an instant message for me."

"Yeah, sure," muttered Rizu. "I'm sorry I ever bothered you."

She turned on her heels and began to head toward the fishbowl lobby until her right shoe suddenly lost traction and caused her to stumble back. Instead of the painful fall on the icy cement that she had expected, she found herself in Jeison's arms as he saved her from a probable injury.

Looking at him, she smiled with a blush and said apologetically, "Thank you, Jeison."

He helped her onto her feet and nodded his head. "I didn't want you to cut your head open. Just be careful next time, okay?"

"Okay," replied Rizu with a small smile. "I think I need to get going."

"I think so too," agreed Jeison. "You got class in the morning."

"So do you."

"Yeah."

"Well, in that case, I'll see you later, Jeison."

Just as her black-gloved hand had touched the cold door handle, she heard him say to her, "And Rizu? Never be sorry for bothering a friend. I didn't mean to be rude to you."

She looked back to face him, and she stood speechless as tears of joy filled her brown eyes behind her glasses, and her smile instinctively grew bigger with a sense of hope. "Thank you," she whispered.

Beronika waited for her roommate in the social lounge as she sat on the brick ledge in front of one of the two upright pianos right outside the apartment of Micchi's assistant. When she noticed Rizu entering the room after checking in with the night staff employee in the fishbowl lobby, a serious yet concerned expression appeared on her face.

This did not go unnoticed by Rizu the moment she made eye contact with her. She felt her blood turn cold, and her soul derived from the hope that she had just gained. "What is it?" she asked suspiciously.

"You really do like him, don't you?" said Beronika sadly. "Isn't that why you wanted to speak to him privately?"

"Well, yeah! You kinda knew that I've been attracted to him for a long time!"

Slowly rising to her feet, Beronika walked over and placed her hands on Rizu's shoulders. "I know that, but you also know that he doesn't exactly feel the same for you," she said. "Why do you put yourself through these situations?"

"I don't know," answered Rizu with a sigh of defeat. "But maybe you were right. Maybe we are more compatible than you would be if you were with him."

"Rizu, I didn't mean that literally!" said Beronika defensively. "I was just comparing the compatibility between you and him and between him and me! He would do better with you for a girlfriend in the long run. That was all I was saying! Did you really think I meant it?"

"B, what's going on? Why are you trying to get me to move on and forget about him? I thought you were okay with my crush on Jeison! Why the sudden change of heart?"

"I was okay with it at first, but I somehow made an error in my judgment," replied Beronika quietly, looking down to her feet as she fidgeted in her spot with her slender fingers. "Rizu, I'm very worried about you. I don't want to see you get hurt. I know romance hasn't been your forte, but please promise me that you won't do anything stupid just to get his attention when I'm the one he's been pining over! I know he doesn't see you like that, and even Megu can see it! She'd tell you the same thing!"

"How would Megu know?" asked Rizu. "It's not like you two talk online that much."

"No, we don't, but even she knows that it wouldn't work out between the two of you," said Beronika. "Rizu, I really hate to say this, but Jeison isn't interested in you at all. Not like how you see him. He's pretty much made it known whenever he's around us, remember?"

Rizu's face fell as she muttered, "Yeah."

Turning her brown gaze away, she forced herself not to cry and clenched her fists in anger at her sides. "Well, then it's a good thing I didn't tell him my feelings for him tonight, now is it?" she spat.

"A very good thing indeed," said Beronika sagely as she walked to the security scanner that would unlock the tan doors to their hall with a swipe of her student identification card.

Just as she was about to pull out the plastic object from her pouch, she heard Rizu say to her, "I felt a strange aura coming from him tonight, B. There's something about him that I can't put my finger on."

Beronika looked up at her roommate and shook her head in denial. "No, Rizu," she said sternly. "That's where you're wrong. There's no strange aura that he's radiating. You're confusing it with infatuation. Can't you see that?"

"But it was dark," said Rizu, walking up to her with a serious look in her brown eyes. "And Jeison is never _ever_ dark!"

"What are you saying, anyway? That he could be another Angelic Guardian?"

"Possibly. He very well could be the next one!"

"I wish I could agree with you, Rizu. I really do," said Beronika as she swiped her card through the scanner.

When she heard the sound of the doors being unlocked, she pulled open the one on the right and added coldly, "But I think you're mistaken. You just _think_ he's one of us just so you can get closer to him. I'm sorry to hurt your feelings, but I refuse to have this conversation if you're going to continue to act this way. You've got to get over him for your sake or else you'll get hurt. I'll meet you in the room, and if I don't, I'll see you in the morning. _Konbanwa,_ Rizu."

After she heard the loud click of the doors locking behind Beronika, Rizu slumped to the floor against the wall next to Micchi's office and drew her knees up to her chin. She kept thinking about what had happened on the walk to her complex with Jeison by her side and staring at her for no apparent reason.

Although she would never say it aloud in public, she had to admit Beronika was right about one thing. Jeison Ankokuno was not interested in her at all. Even his eyes told her the truth when he shrugged her off before he left.

"I'm such a fool," she muttered as she placed a hand over her forehead. "But there's something about that man, and I want to know what it is."

Taking a deep breath, she added softly, "What _am_ I feeling for Jeison—infatuation or love? Oh, Shinmei, where are you when I need you?"


	11. Chapter Ten

**Author's Choice Song:** I think if there was any Christmas song that would fit Rizu's holiday mood perfectly, I would have to say "Blue Christmas". And I'm gonna pick Sheryl Crow's version out of the ones I know. I don't care for Elvis' and Porky Pig's (Bob & Tom, really) is just a little too comedic for this scene. I kinda feel sorry for Rizu, but I can relate to part of her situation greatly. Having a mother around the house for two weeks can be tiring fast, and for me, it usually means no free time... like writing!

Chapter Ten

Rizu's Horrible Discovery – A Shocking Turn of Events!

Rizu spent the last few weeks of the fall semester studying nonstop for her finals in between classes and meals, which worried Beronika greatly. Seeing her roommate hiding from the world was one thing, but seeing her hide just to focus on her academics was another. She knew that the young woman was incapable of balancing her social life with her education, especially when grades mattered the most, but she had a gut feeling that Rizu was only studying just to keep herself from slipping into a funk of depression.

When the week of finals arrived, Rizu walked into each of her classes feeling unprepared, but she would leave in great relief as if someone had taken a huge load off of her back. She was grateful that she only had one final per day, which made studying easier on her, but it still saddened Beronika to see her devote all of her free time to her books when she could have been relaxing or hanging out at the mall to do some last-minute Christmas shopping.

That Friday afternoon, the day before all the residence halls on campus shut down for the holidays, they parted ways with a final goodbye. Beronika returned to Koganei by early evening to visit her family and Buraian, but she had to shield her cell phone away from her boyfriend's wandering eyes every time Jeison sent a text message to her. She soon discovered that he was helping his university _seisho_ group with their annual Christmas tray drive for his church and that Megu had gone to Tokyo to visit her cousin for the holidays.

She was happy to hear about their great start to their holiday vacation, but she felt a pang of sadness as her mind drifted toward Rizu. When she asked Jeison if either of them had heard anything from her roommate, he told her no. _This isn't like Rizu to ignore us,_ she thought sadly. _I wonder what's going on with her._

Inside her bedroom in Roganu, Rizu was thinking the same thing as she checked her cell phone for any text messages or missed phone calls that she might have received while she was having dinner with her family. She scrolled through her inbox and frowned. The last message was just a few days old, and even reading the sender's name brought tears to her eyes.

The only text message alert that she had gotten since she arrived home was from Robu to let her know that he was not going to be able to visit Emeri for Christmas again. His parents had already made plans with his grandparents from his father's side, and they had no intentions on getting involved with the holiday traffic.

_This is fantastic,_ she thought sarcastically. _Robu is stuck in Kirugoru, I haven't heard from any of my other friends, and I have nowhere else to go. Why is it that my vacations always end up the same way?_

She looked over to the pile of gifts in the corner that she had brought upstairs with her after celebrating Christmas that afternoon. Her parents refused to buy her any music albums with questionable lyric content or video games that were compatible for her new Nintendo DS. They also had given up on helping her complete her _Sērā__ Senshi_ doll collection after she announced to them that she was now more interested in having every single doll that was released both in Japan and in other countries. If she wanted any of that stuff bad enough, they concluded, she would have to buy them herself.

Having set limitations on her Christmas list was a pain, and she finally decided that it was not worth asking for anything in particular. If she was not allowed to ask for anything that she desired due to money and morality, she was not going to bother anymore.

That morning as she unwrapped her gifts, she found herself biting the inside of her right cheek as the urge to throw a tantrum started to bubble inside her. Because she chose to not specify what she wanted, her parents bought her clothes and other accessories that they felt she needed. _The only thing this stuff is good for is stocking the empty shelves at the thrift store,_ she thought.

Aside from having a boring and lonely Christmas, she had to deal with her sister being out of school for a few weeks and her mother taking her paid holiday leave from the office. Roderikku was the only person in the house who had to work to keep up with the bills and the necessities. Sherona, on the other hand, kept herself busy by doing her annual winter cleaning while putting her oldest daughter to work. "The last thing I need to have is a couch potato for an adult daughter," she said two days before Christmas.

"What about Po-ra?" whined Rizu. "Why does she get off the hook?"

"Because she has other plans, and all I've seen you do so far is nothing but watching anime and playing that damn _Pocket Monsters_ game of yours! You're an adult, Erizabesu! It's time you took on some responsibility around here! One day, you're going to marry a man who will expect you to know how to clean his house, how to cook his meal, and how to do his laundry."

She shoved the white laundry basket into Rizu's hands and added as she walked toward the kitchen, "And I'm tired of doing yours."

"Mama, I was going to do my laundry tomorrow!" called Rizu.

"That's what you said a few days ago!"

Stomping her right foot in retaliation like a spoiled child, Rizu sulked to the laundry room in silence.

Now that the Christmas excitement had passed, she was feeling lonely more than ever without her friends around. She heard the sound of her father's deep laughter from downstairs as the rest of the family watched a comedy movie that he received from Po-ra that morning, and she cringed at the joyful noise. She secretly wanted to join them, but she also knew that her escape from reality would only be cut short once the movie was over.

She rested her head against the glass of her window and watched the big snowflakes fall from the sky. In the distance, she listened to the neighborhood children throwing snowballs at each other in the street. A small, sad smile appeared on her lips for a split second before it quickly turned into a frown as she thought about the joys of winter that she would love to share with all of her friends.

Without any warning of fatigue, her eyes became heavy, and she soon fell asleep against her windowpane. Her mind drifted into her dream world where she, as Tamashii, walked along the snowy paths of the frozen forest until she found her favorite willow tree next to the lake.

She had hidden the velvet box that Geiburieru had given her inside a burrowing hole in the trunk of the tree before she started her search to find Iinaka, but when she reached around for it, her fingers found nothing but small pieces of bark. Standing on her toes, she looked inside and found the box missing along with the _henshin_ pens for Shi and Inochi!

"This isn't good," she murmured as she searched around the tree on her hands and knees. "I know they're here! I just know it!"

Just as she turned her head around the trunk, she saw a man in a black cloak running in the distance with the box tucked beneath his left arm. "Hey!" she screamed to grab his attention. "Give me that back!"

She stood up to begin chasing after him, but as she started to run, her right foot was caught beneath one of the willow's roots, and she fell onto her stomach. "Damn it!" she cursed loudly.

She looked up and watched the stranger disappear into the darkness and pounded her fists into the ground in frustration. "What am I going to do?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"What do you mean they're gone?" asked Beronika on the other line of Rizu's cell phone. "Who took them?"

"I have no idea!" answered Rizu with a sigh of defeat. "I don't understand how someone got into my dream world without my permission!"

"And all you saw was a man in black?"

"Yeah."

"Was this person spy for Myoujou?"

"I don't think so, B."

"But he was wearing black."

"Yes, but I also had a black _henshin_ pen in the box before I lost it!" reminded Rizu.

"Do you think it was one of the last two Angelic Guardians who took the box?" asked Beronika.

"I'm not sure," replied Rizu. "Geiburieru didn't exactly tell me who's not allowed to enter my dream world. All he said was that no one could enter it _but_ me."

"I think it's time to have a chat with him before things get worse."

"But how can I visit him? He's at school right now, B! He's probably working!"

"I doubt it," argued Beronika knowingly.

"How would you know?"

"I just know these things. I'm sure he's heard about the missing pens by now, and I wouldn't be surprised if you get a visit from him before you head back to school."

"What about Megu? Do you think she knows?"

"Rizu, if _I_ didn't know anything about the pens, what makes you think that she would?"

"True," sighed Rizu. "How's she doing, by the way? I haven't heard anything from her since our get-together before finals!"

"All I know is that she's in Tokyo visiting with some family, but she's not answering my calls or texts. I'm not sure what's going on with her either."

"I hope she's doing okay."

"Me too."

Rizu spent the first day of the new year trapped inside her house as a heavy snowstorm rolled through Roganu, but the damage was nothing compared to the ice storm that covered the Oukan region. She heard of the mass power outage through the local news, and the president of Oukan University stated in his public address that he was unsure if the campus would be functional by that following Sunday for the start of the spring semester. _I wonder how Jeison and Megu are doing,_ she thought as she sipped on her hot cocoa in the kitchen that morning.

She glanced at her cell phone that was sitting next to her left arm on the table and frowned. She still had not heard a peep from them, and she was starting to wonder about their current predicaments.

Or at least Jeison's.

Two days later when the roads were finally cleared off by the street department, Po-ra returned to Roganu Junior & Senior High School to start the last semester of her senior year, and Rizu spent the remainder of her vacation packing her bags and cleaning her bedroom. Sherona had gone back to the office, which was a great relief to Rizu, and everything was back to normal again.

By Saturday night, Rizu had stuffed her car with everything that she was going to take back to Oukan with her the next morning, and she still had yet to have a visit from Geiburieru to discuss about the two missing _henshin_ pens. "I wonder where they could be," she said aloud as she sprawled out over her twin bed with her hands behind her head.

"I know where they went," replied a familiar masculine voice.

Rising up, Rizu found Geiburieru in his white robes sitting at the foot of her bed. "Geiburieru, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I know what happened to those pens," he said softly. "There's no need to fear."

"No need to fear?" snorted Rizu. "Geiburieru, those pens were not supposed to leave my side! I was responsible for them, and now they're gone because of me! I let everyone down—you, my friends, and Shinmei!"

"It's not your fault, Rizu. It was meant to happen."

"How so?"

"It was foretold that those pens would be taken and given to their rightful owners."

"What do you mean?" asked Rizu as she shifted around to sit Indian-style on her comforter.

"You were never supposed to awaken Shi and Inochi in the first place," explained Geiburieru. "I gave you those pens for safekeeping so Myoujou wouldn't find them. I'm really sorry that you weren't told about this sooner. I didn't mean for you to worry yourself over them."

"I understand," said Rizu quietly. "Geiburieru, can you tell me something about my dream world?"

"Sure," replied Geiburieru. "What do you want to know?"

"When you said that no one else could enter it, what exactly did you mean?"

Geiburieru bit his lower lip in deep thought as he replied, "Your dream world was created for you and you alone. Demons are strictly prohibited from entering it—"

"But what about my friends? And other Angelic Guardians?"

"They're also forbidden to enter unless they have been granted permission to do so."

"Like the man I saw with the box you gave me?" asked Rizu.

"Did he take it?"

"Yes."

Geiburieru furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "What did that man look like?"

"I didn't get a good look at him," confessed Rizu, "but he was wearing a black cloak."

_I should have known it would be him,_ thought Geiburieru with a solemn look in his blue eyes. _She must have seen him when I—_

He was suddenly startled by Po-ra's voice from the other side of Rizu's door, and he gave Rizu one final look before he disappeared into thin air.

Po-ra stuck her head inside her older sister's bedroom and said sternly, "You better be going to bed soon."

"You're not Mama, you know," said Rizu as she looked at her bedside alarm clock.

"You're going to church with us before you leave, and the priest doesn't want you to fall asleep in the pew again."

"That was just one time!"

"Yeah! Last week!"

As she drove through the streets of Oukan University the following afternoon, Rizu was relieved to see the campus operating once again. The heating units in the residence halls were running at full power, and she could see clouds of steam coming out of the outdoor vents in front of several instructional buildings. Even though the roads were still slick from the ice storm, she was able to unload her car and park it at the American football stadium with plenty of time to catch the shuttle bus.

Just as she was cutting through the parking garage near her complex, she heard a young man screaming for help on the second floor of the structure. "You've got to be kidding me!" she muttered as she reached for her _henshin_ pen in her coat pocket.

She rushed to the nearest set of stairs and climbed the iron steps, hoping that she was not too late to save the man. She threw open the heavy door, and she gasped when her eyes landed on the victim who was barely breathing. Kneeling down beside him, she looked over his condition and found no external injuries on his body. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

"I'll be fine," he replied in between choppy breaths.

"What happened?"

"A demon attacked me… He looked like one of those creepy vampires, you know? He tried to kill me…"

"Where did he go?" demanded Rizu.

"I don't know… He disappeared…"

"Do you know why he went after you?"

The young man shook his head and said, "No, except…"

"Except what?" asked Rizu as she leaned closer to him.

"Except that he was looking for something…"

Back in their room, Beronika paced back and forth while keeping her eyes glued on the sidewalk next to the parking garage each time she walked up to the window. It was now going on an hour since Rizu took her car to the stadium, and she was still missing. "She better not have gone to dinner with me!" she mumbled to herself. "I promised her that we'd go together tonight!"

She stopped her pacing when she heard Rizu open the door behind her. She quickly approached her roommate to interrogate her senseless until she noticed the pink _henshin_ pen in her hand. Looking at Rizu in disbelief, she asked, "Already?"

"Yeah," said Rizu with a sigh. "A demon went after a guy on the freshman basketball team, but it was gone by the time I got to the scene."

"Why was there a demon in the first place? What was it looking for?"

"Probably those two pens," replied Rizu. "We need to get Megu right away and pay a visit to Geiburieru. This is getting too weird."

"Too weird indeed," agreed Beronika with a nod of her head.

At her suburban home in southside Roganu, Megu sat at her computer desk with her earphones on as she instant messaged her cousin in Tokyo while listening to some Japanese pop music on her MP3 player. Just as she was about to take a sip of her cherry slurpee, her cell phone rang loudly on her desk and caused her to drop the foam cup on her lap. "Damn it!" she shrieked. "I'm gonna kill whoever had the nerve to call me at a time like this!"

Noticing that Beronika's number was flashing on the small sceen, she picked up her phone and answered angrily, "You better have a good reason to talk to me because, all thanks to you, I'm covered in frozen cherry juice!"

"Sorry, Megu! I didn't mean to scare you!" apologized Beronika hastily. "But is there any way you can come over to the campus right now? It's kinda important."

"Just how important is it?"

"Pretty important if you ask Rizu."

Rolling her eyes, she said reluctantly, "I'll be there!"

Ten minutes later, she met up with Rizu and Beronika in the parking garage near library. When she stepped out of her car, she shot a cold look at Beronika and muttered something incoherent about having her new pants ruined.

"Didn't I say I'm sorry?" huffed Beronika with her hands on her hips.

"Now's not the time to cry over spilt milk, you guys, or frozen slurpees," said Rizu. "We got a mystery to solve, and I want to get to the bottom to it."

"A mystery?" asked Megu. "What's going on? What did I miss?"

"Apparently Rizu found the pens for the next two Guardians missing from her dream world while we were on vacation," began Beronika, "and just an hour ago, there was a demon sighting!"

"A demon sighting? Tonight?"

"I know. I'm still stomaching it myself."

"But why didn't you guys call me over vacation about the pens?"

"We tried," answered Rizu sourly. "You weren't receiving our calls."

"Yeah, about that," grimaced Megu in embarrassment. "I went to Tokyo to see my cousin during the holidays, and I left my phone charger at home."

"Megu!" scolded Rizu and Beronika in unison.

"Sorry! And by the time I got back home, we were still out of power from that ice storm we had!"

"We'll let it slide this time, but make sure to take your cell phone charger with you just in case we need you," said Rizu.

"Got it!" replied Megu with a nod. "So, what now?"

"We got to see if Geiburieru's here," said Beronika. "He might know something about that demon attack today."

"I'm sorry, but Geiburieru isn't working tonight," apologized the student assistant at the circulation desk. "He'll be back tomorrow morning. I can leave him a message if you want me to."

"No, thanks," said Rizu sadly as she walked away from him with her head down.

"Well, that's a bummer!" commented Megu, following her two friends around the spiral staircase toward the computer lab.

"I know," sighed Rizu. "I was so hoping we could—OW!"

Landing on her bottom, she looked up and felt her cheeks redden in mortification. "Hey, Jeison," she greeted nervously. "I didn't mean to bump into you."

"Sure," drawled Jeison dryly as he helped her off the floor.

"Hey, Jeison!" said Megu as she walked over to give him a big hug.

"Hey, you guys."

He turned to Beronika with a playful wink and chuckled to himself when he saw her look the other way with her nose in the air. _She likes me,_ he mused.

"So, what are you doing here?" asked Rizu.

"Just doing some studying."

"Already? But classes don't start until tomorrow!"

"It's only the first chapter!"

"Of one book?"

"Nope," replied Jeison. "_All _of my books. I've decided that if I read my books every day, I shouldn't have to worry about procrastinating ever again!"

_This totally doesn't sound like the Jeison I know,_ thought Megu as she noticed his weird attitude toward studying. _Procrastination has always been his middle name. What's up with that? And why is he here when he could be studying at home? It's not like his parents are _that_ noisy!_

"What about you ladies?" asked Jeison.

"Well, we wanted to talk to a good friend of ours who works here, but I was just told he's not available tonight," replied Rizu.

"I see," said Jeison coolly, unable to help himself from thinking about what she had said. _Who could they possibly know that works in the library? It can't be… Yeah, right! It's not like they're going to see _him!_They can't possible know him!_

"I guess we need to be going, right, you guys?" asked Rizu as she turned her head toward her friends.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," said Beronika, walking quickly past Jeison and straight through the metal detectors. "See you later, Jeison."

"Bye, B!" waved Jeison as he sighed dreamily. Turning his head to Megu, he added, "I think she likes me."

"Keep telling yourself that, Romeo," grumbled Megu. "I'll see you later."

"Take care, Jeison," said Rizu softly as she followed her out of the library.

"You too!" called Jeison.

When the coast was finally clear, he slowly turned his head toward the circulation desk with a grim expression on his face and his soft blue-hazel eyes turning cold and suspicious. His mind went back to the night when the four of them were being attacked by that strange hotdog demon in the Village and the story that he overheard between Rizu and the police officers.

_Three superheroines…_

"They couldn't be… could they?" he asked under his breath before he walked over to the elevators to do some quiet reading on the fourth floor.

Meanwhile, Rizu and her friends trudged through the parking garage with their heads hanging in disappointment. "That went well," said Rizu sadly.

"Maybe he'll be available tomorrow afternoon," piped up Beronika. "We can go after our classes."

"We can only hope."

"Do you guys really think that the demon is after those pens?" asked Megu worriedly.

"I wouldn't be surprised," replied Rizu. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious. I remember hearing Kasushiusu say that there were bigger fish to catch, and I'm worried that we might not get the next two Angelic Guardians in time."

"We will, Megu," assured Rizu softly. "Even if it means fighting to the very death, I refuse to let Myoujou win them over to his side! Them or any of my friends, for that matter!"


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Author's Choice Song:** For this chapter, I would have to say that MUSE's "Hysteria" is the best candidate possible. Myoujou is now after Shi, the Angel of Death, and we still have Rizu's need to be loved by Jeison despite of Beronika's warning in Chapter Nine. I would have to say that "Hysteria" would be the song to describe Rizu's internal suffering from loneliness and desire. Unfortunately, Jeison, at the moment, is the man she wants, and she's going crazy without him.

Chapter Eleven

Don't Fear the New Reaper – Shi Appears!

As the cold weeks of January passed by slowly, Rizu and her two friends were starting to give up on their search, but Geiburieru kept pushing to them to press on. They would complain to the archangel about the lack of progress that they had made, hoping that he would give them a break from their mission, but he refused to sway to their request.

By the third week, they were up to their wits' end after scaring off the vampire demon several times in various parts of Oukan University. "We keep going after this demon, but he won't stay!" whined Rizu after her late Thursday afternoon class.

"And the victims?" inquired Geiburieru.

"They're doing fine," replied Megu. "Half of them don't remember what happened, but those that do are going through therapy."

"What kind of therapy?"

"The same therapy that my friends in the dance department when through last semester," answered Beronika. "This is just what we need—more kids on medicated drugs!"

"I just find this all odd," began Rizu unevenly. "I'm starting to see a pattern with the last encounters we've had."

"How so?" asked Geiburieru.

"Well, we know that all of our victims have said that they were attacked by a vampire demon, and all of the victims so far have been males!"

"That _is_ very odd," commented Beronika.

"Which can only mean that the next Angelic Guardian _must_ be a man!" squealed Megu.

"What's gotten you so happy?"

"The thought of having a good-looking man on the team," sighed Megu dreamily. "I think my prince is about to come!"

"Hold your tongue, Megu," said Geiburieru sagely as he sipped his tea. "I wouldn't exactly call him your prince quite yet."

"Why not?"

"Because if what Rizu said to me about him is true, then it's not worth the chase. He's _nobody's_ Prince Charming or knight in shining armor."

"Then, who is he?"

"From how Rizu described me to him when she saw him in her dream world a while ago, it sounded like she met Shi," he replied.

"Shi?" asked the three girls in unison.

"He's better known as the _tenshi no shi,_ or the Angel of Death."

"Death?" choked Rizu. "Does this mean I'm gonna die?"

"Calm down, Rizu," instructed Geiburieru. "Just because you caught a glimpse the Angel of Death in your dream doesn't mean your time is up. It just means that Shi is your next Guardian."

"That and he's the one with the other two _henshin_ pens," grumbled Rizu.

"Well, yes, that is true."

"But why was Shi in Rizu's dream world in the first place?" demanded Beronika.

"As I have explained to Rizu, there are Angelic Guardians out there who have been granted permission to come and go through her dream world, preferably to give her a message from Shinmei," replied Geiburieru before he took another long sip from his teacup, "but they sometimes serve as a vision that only Rizu can see."

"Why me?" asked Rizu.

"Because you are the chosen leader, Rizu. Think of all the possibilities that could jeopardize your mission if you shared visions with Beronika and Megu!"

"Hey!" cried Megu.

"I'm just saying," said Geiburieru in defense. "The point is, Rizu, you are the only person in this group who is able to receive these visions. You are not restricted to keep them to yourself, but I would highly encourage that you don't go blabbing your mouth off to anyone else but to your friends."

"And by friends, you mean just Beronika and Megu?" asked Rizu.

"Any Guardian who is on your side. Remember, there are more out there than just those two."

"Right."

She looked up at the wall clock over the archangel's desk and stood up from her seat, smoothing out the creases in her school skirt. "I hate to cut this short, but I need to head back," she said quietly as she reached down and grabbed her messenger bag next to her feet.

"Homework?" asked Megu.

"Something like that," replied Rizu with a small smile. "I'll see you guys later. Bye, Geiburieru."

"Take care," said Geiburieru.

When they heard the sound of the office door latching shut behind Rizu, Beronika and Megu exchanged worried glances with each other. "Is it me, or did I sense Rizu lying to us?" asked Megu.

"Now that you've mentioned it, I think something's up with her. But what?" asked Beronika.

They slowly turned their heads to Geiburieru for an answer, but the archangel sipped on his tea and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't know what you ladies are talking about," he said coolly.

"It's Shi, isn't it?" prodded Megu.

"Perhaps and perhaps not. My lips are sealed."

Outside the office door, Rizu had just turned the corner past Geiburieru's office when she accidentally bumped into a student and knocked several books out of his hands. "Not again!" she grumbled to herself as she knelt down and collected the fallen books on the floor. "I'm sorry for being a klutz."

"I'm starting to wonder if your clumsiness is hereditary or something you picked up as a child."

Rizu looked up and felt her eyes widen as she made eye contact with the young man. "I'm so sorry, Jeison!" she apologized. "I guess I wasn't watching where I was going again."

"Do you have a thing for bumping into people everywhere you go?" he asked playfully.

"Not really," muttered Rizu as she gave him the book in her right hand. "I think you needed this."

"Thank you," said Jeison sincerely.

"So, why were you carrying all these books in the first place? I thought you were trying to stay on top of your studies so you wouldn't procrastinate like you did last semester!"

"I got sidetracked on my studies, due to _other obligations_," he replied with a low growl in his throat.

"Other obligations? What other obligations?"

Shooting a sharp look at her, Jeison responded icily, "It's none of your business, Rizu. I'm not entitled to tell you _everything_ that goes on with my life. I mean you're not like my girlfriend or anything, you know?"

Rizu was taken aback by his words, and she felt as if he had seen her most private thoughts like a crush reading her diary. _How the hell did he know that I liked him?_ she wondered.

Then, she heard Beronika's words echoing in her mind as she looked into his cold stare. _"Jeison isn't interested in you at all. Not like how you see him…"_

As if she was sensing Shinmei's presence looming over her like a warning, Rizu silently nodded in defeat and added reluctantly, "I guess I need to let you get back to your _studies_. I'll see you around, Jeison."

She heard the sound of Geiburieru's office door opening behind her, and she turned around to see Beronika and Megu catching up with her. "Hey, Jeison," greeted Megu.

He acknowledged their presence with a curt nod of his head. "Megu. Beronika."

"See you around?"

"Sure thing."

Beronika arched her right eyebrow in surprise, but she kept her mouth shut until she was walking around the spiral staircase with her two friends in tow. She looked down at Rizu and asked, "Was he sick or something?"

"What makes you say that?" asked Rizu.

"Because he wasn't being all flirty around me like he usually is!"

_How peculiar,_ thought Rizu grimly.

Meanwhile, Geiburieru stepped out of his office and called to the young man at the end of the hall, "You can come in now, Jeison."

Jeison turned around and left his stack of books and his messenger bag outside the door before he closed it behind him. Taking the empty chair in front of Geiburieru's desk, he leaned back with a serious look on his face and said coldly, "We need to talk."

Geiburieru felt the corners of his lips twitch upward into a smile and he nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, we do," he replied.

"I wonder what got into Jeison today," said Megu before she took a bite out of her cheeseburger from Sukoti's later that evening. "He's usually hanging all over you, B!"

"I know!" sighed Beronika. "It's not like him to ignore me. What's up with that?"

"Beats me," said Rizu with a shrug.

From across the table, Megu narrowed her eyes at her and said, "Come on, Rizu! You were the last person to talk to him before we left Geiburieru's office! What did you say that got him so pissed off?"

Rizu glared at Megu and asked haughtily, "What makes you say that I was the one who pissed him off?"

"Because I'm not oblivious to your little crush on him! Did you push him too far?"

"The hell I did!" snapped Rizu. "I accidentally bumped into him on my way out, and he got pissy with me!"

"What did you say?"

"Well, I asked him why he hasn't been keeping up with his studies because he had all these books with him, and he told me that he got a little sidetracked with 'other obligations', or so he says."

"You didn't ask him about those 'other obligations', did you?" asked Beronika.

"Maybe," squeaked Rizu.

Beronika and Megu groaned and shook their heads in disappointment. "Then what?" grounded out Megu.

"Then, he got all upset about my curiosity and told me that he didn't have to tell me anything, even if I was his girlfriend!"

"So, he knows?"

"I guess so. Did either of you two tell him?" asked Rizu sternly as she pointed her chopsticks at her two friends.

"No!" replied Beronika.

"Then, how did he find out?"

"Rizu, I hate to admit it, but you don't have a good poker face around guys," confessed Beronika. "You kinda gave it away before vacation, remember?"

"Oh, you mean when she wanted to talk to Jeison alone?" asked Megu.

"That would be it."

"I thought so. I remember Jeison was not in a good mood when he was taking me home that night. I asked him about it, but he told me that it was nothing. What did you say to him?"

"Not a damn thing," replied Rizu. "I almost told him of my confession, but I chickened out."

"And I still say it was a good thing you did," said Beronika. "Rizu, as your friend, I don't think it's a good idea to pursue Jeison."

"B's got a point," agreed Megu. "He's not interested in you."

"Why? Because I'm not as pretty as B?" asked Rizu coldly.

"He _is_ pretty shallow," said Megu, "but you're not really his type."

"And I take it B is?"

"I'm afraid so."

"What is his type, anyway?" asked Beronika as she sipped on her glass of water.

"Very attractive skinny girls, but he gives them more brownie points if they attend church."

"Well, that's a relief because I don't go to church."

"It's not stopping him, though," said Rizu.

"Yeah, but I also have a boyfriend, Rizu! He can look all he wants, but one touch and I will make sure he won't able to touch another girl again. I'll break his fingers if I have to!"

_So, B has a boyfriend,_ thought Megu sadly as she looked down at her half-eaten sandwich on her plate. _She has no idea what kind of a mess she's in right now. Poor girl._

"But even the boyfriend's not stopping him from trying," said Rizu.

"I know," muttered Beronika. "I'm tempted to call Buraian the next time Jeison makes a move on me."

"Don't hold your breath," said Megu quietly.

Beronika looked at Megu in confusion and asked, "What?"

"Nothing," answered Megu hastily. "I'm just talking to myself."

"Um… Okay."

"No offense to you guys, but talking about Jeison is kinda making me depressed," said Rizu.

"So, what do you want to talk about? Shi?"

"I guess. He seems to be at the top of our list of priorities right now."

"Point taken," said Megu. "So, why is Myoujou after Shi?"

"Well, he is the Angel of Death," said Beronika. "Just thinking about what he could do gives me the chills."

"Can he really bring death to people?" asked Rizu.

"I don't know about this Angel of Death," replied Megu. "I might not be much of a _kurisuchan,_ but I know that the Angel of Death doesn't bring death unless he's instructed to do so. His only role is to collect the dying and lead them to their eternal homes."

"But those who see him do die, right?"

"Only in the conscious mind. Your subconscious mind perceives things that are not in your reality. Geiburieru's right. There's no reason for you to fear if you saw him in the dream world."

"So, why is the Grim Reaper walking among men?" asked Beronika.

"I'm not sure," said Megu. "I never imagined the Grim Reaper as being one of us either."

"I'm just curious to know who Shi could be. We all know that Shi's a guy, but this campus is full of men!"

Rizu sat in silence until a realization suddenly dawned on her. "Could Jeison be Shi?" she asked.

"Not this again," grumbled Beronika.

"What gives you that idea?" asked Megu. "Jeison is nothing like Shi."

"He wasn't until as of late," argued Rizu.

"Rizu, I'm fairly certain that his strange behavior toward us was from you getting on his bad side. You think Jeison's Shi because you _want_ him to be Shi. He's not Shi, so just drop it and move on."

"But—"

"Drop it, Rizu."

"But—"

"I said drop it!" barked Megu.

Rizu frowned as she began to pick at her food and said quietly, "Fine."

As she walked beside her friends on their way to her complex, Rizu ignored their conversation and focused her thoughts on Jeison. She could not shake the dark feeling inside her heart every time she compared him to Shi. She started to wonder if she was right all along, but she also knew that Megu did have a point. Maybe she wanted Jeison to be Shi. Maybe Shi was another guy on campus. Maybe Jeison was only being cold to her because of her silly crush.

Her thoughts came to a sudden stop when Beronika placed her left hand out in front of her as they stood in the courtyard in front of their home. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I think we got ourselves a demon," replied Beronika lowly as she grabbed her _henshin_ pen from her yellow winter coat pocket. "Let's check it out."

Hiding behind the tall patch of bushes along the parking lot that separated their complex from the all-women's complex, the girls caught a glimpse of a young man from Jeison's prospective fraternity being lifted into the air by the neck. Their eyes then shifted to the vampire demon that was holding him captive in his left hand. "It's him!" gasped Megu. "It's the demon!"

"But what he does want?" asked Beronika.

"Shi's Seed Crystal," replied Rizu.

Megu turned her eyes toward the demon's victim and said matter-of-factly, "I seriously doubt he's Shi. I know that guy all too well. He's anti-_kirisutokyou._ He doesn't believe in Heaven or Hell, and he certainly doesn't believe in Shinmei."

"But, Megu, you and I were agnostics," said Beronika.

"Yes, but being Shi is a little different. How could an agnostic be Shi if it requires him to travel between the two worlds of the afterlife? Shi knows Heaven and Hell exists."

"I bet you Kasushiusu is going to be disappointed when he finds out," said Rizu with a smug expression.

"Now, give me your Seed Crystal!" demanded the vampire demon in his thick Transylvanian accent.

"Seed Crystal?" grunted the young man. "What are you talking—OH!"

The demon placed his right hand on the man's chest and began to suck the crystal out of him like a powerful vacuum. The man screamed and writhed in pain until his body released the desired object into the demon's hand. He slumped forward and fell to the ground face first.

Kasushiusu suddenly appeared behind his servant and took the crystal into his hand. "I'll take that," he said.

He narrowed his silver eyes and waited several second to see if it was Shi's Seed Crystal, but when nothing happened, he growled furiously and gave it back to the demon. "Another dud!" he spat. "We've searched high and low for that blasted Guardian, and I'm getting sick and tired of playing his little game of hide-and-seek! He's here, Nosufuratsu, and I want that crystal now!"

"Yes, Master Kasushiusu," said Nosufuratsu with a bow. "And vat do you vant me to do vith the mortal?"

"Do what you want with him, but I expect you to continue with the search. I want that Seed Crystal tonight, or else my master won't be happy with either of us! Don't come back to Hell empty-handed!"

"Yes, Master."

After watching Kasushiusu teleport back to Hell, Nosufuratsu stooped over the young man's unconscious body and extended his pearly white fangs. "Vell, I can't function much longer vithout a snack to hold me over for several hours," he said as he drew closer to the man's neck.

"Don't even think about sucking that man's blood!"

Nosufuratsu looked over his right shoulder and gasped when he saw Tamashii, Medetai, and Iinaka standing over him with an unforgiving look in their eyes. "Angelic Guardians!" he growled deeply.

"Playtime is over!" seethed Tamashii.

"This is just vat I need—party crashers!" hissed Nosufuratsu. "Don't you ladies have anything better to do than to take avay all my fun?"

He extended his right palm at them and then asked, "Is it me or are things going a little _batty?_"

From the right sleeve of his torn black tuxedo, he shot a blast of bats at the trio. Medetai and Iinaka escaped his attack, but several of the tiny creatures found their way into Tamashii's curly ponytail while the rest swarmed around her. "Ew!" she shrieked as she swatted them away. "Get away! Get away!"

"Hang in there, Tamashii!" said Iinaka. "I'll get you out in a jiffy! Flame Spike!"

"Iinaka, don't!"

Iinaka ignored Tamashii's protest and spiked the fireball with a powerful force behind her hand. Instead of setting the bats on fire, she accidentally scorched her leader. "Umm… oops?" she squeaked.

Blowing out the tiny flame that was burning at the tip of a singed loose curl, Tamashii glowered at her and grumbled, "The next time you plan to use a fireball on me, you better have water on hand!"

"Let me give it a shot! Shooting Star!" cried Medetai.

The giant star hit Nosufuratsu in the face and knocked onto the ground, causing him to groan under his breath.

"Way to go, Medetai!" praised Tamashii.

"Thanks. Now do your thing!"

Just as Tamashii summoned her bow and arrow into her hands, she suddenly felt the cool tip of a sharp blade against her neck. Her captor swatted her weapons away from her and pulled her against his body in a tight bind.

"Tamashii!" cried Medetai and Iinaka.

Tamashii looked over her left shoulder and caught a glimpse of long white hair from the corner of her eye. "Kasushiusu!" she gasped.

"That's right," he purred. "I've got you now, Tamashii!"

He then quickly turned his gaze at her two friends and said to them, "Come any closer, ladies, and your little friend here gets it!"

"Let her go!" demanded Iinaka.

"I don't think so," said Kasushiusu as he watched the helpless pink _senshi_ struggle in his arms. "I've waiting a long time for to this to happen, and I'm not going to give up. Surrender your Seed Crystals to me now and join the Dark Demon's army. I'll let your friend go if you do. But if you dare take another step forward or attack me with your silly magic tricks, you might as well say '_sayonara_' to Tamashii."

Digging the edge of his dagger deeper into Tamashii's neck, he asked, "What's it gonna be, Guardians—your Seed Crystals or Tamashii's life?"

"Neither!"

Everyone suddenly turned their attention to the black figure in the nearby tree, and Kasushiusu dropped the dagger onto the cement before he threw Tamashii aside. "Who's there?" he demanded.

"I am, Kasushiusu!" replied the black figure.

An evil smirk crept on the blue demonic commander's face, and he let out a low chuckle from the back of his throat. "I should have known you'd show up to save your friends… _Shi,_" he purred silkily.

"Shi?" breathed the three Angelic Guardians in amazement.

"I didn't come here to save them," replied Shi icily as he jumped down from the tree branch and threw aside his black cloak.

Shi was a tall Angelic Guardian with shaggy shoulder-length black hair and a trace of a facial hair on his chin. He wore a black tunic-like jumper with three white onyx gemstones on each sleeve and a matching black undershirt that clung to his body. Around his waist was a white utility belt with black onyx gemstones all around it. A pair of black leggings revealed his muscular thighs, and a pair of black boots ran the length of his feet and up to his kneecaps. Like the other three Angelic Guardians, he, too, wore the same cross charms on his headband and on his choker, and in the center of the breastplate on his tunic was a gold cross brooch with a heart gem made out of black onyx just like the charm that was attached to his choker.

Neither angel nor demon could tell who he was, for his eyes were hidden behind a black mask. Tamashii, however, started to have a strange sense of déjà vu running through her mind, but she was not completely sure if what she was feeling was true. _If only he wasn't wearing a mask,_ she thought.

Wordlessly, Shi summoned his beloved scythe into his hands. His weapon was, by far, the most unique scythe the girls had ever seen. It was designed to represent the serpent from the story of Adan and Ibu in the _seisho._ The long handle was as blacl as obsidian, and coiled around its length was the preserved body of a headless snake. At the top of the scythe was a blade that was eerily looked like a serpent's head. The tip was slit to create the mouth, and a ruby was placed on both sides to represent the eyes.

He turned to Kasushiusu with a scowl on his face as he added, "I came here to protect my land from the likes of you!"

"Your land?" snorted Kasushiusu.

"Oukan is the new chosen land according to Shinmei's will," explained Shi. "This city, this university… Everything about Oukan has been blessed by the power of Shinmei, and I refuse to let it be tainted by Myoujou's malevolence."

"We'll see about that, Guardian."

Turning to his servant, Kasushiusu barked, "Finish him off, Nosufuratsu, but save me his Seed Crystal! Reconstructing him into Master Myoujou's plan would be such a great pleasure!"

"You wouldn't!" cried Tamashii.

"Watch me."

Nosufuratsu charged after Shi, but the Angel of Death leaped high into the air as he flung himself over the demon with the help of his scythe. Holding tightly onto his weapon in his right hand, he twirled it in the air as the silver tip began to glow intensely. "Grim Reaper Touch!" he cried before he took a swing at his target.

The tip of the scythe touched the left shoulder of the demon, and Nosufuratsu was immediately disintegrated into a pile of pale dust, screaming in pain as he felt the great power of Shinmei destroy his body.

Medetai watched the final blow in both horror and awe, and she blurted out to Iinaka, who was standing next to her, "Remind me to never cross paths with him."

"Same here," agreed Iinaka.

Loosening up his broad shoulders, Shi quickly turned to Kasushiusu with a grim expression on his lips. "You know what will happen to you if you dare come after me," he growled.

Kasushiusu felt his left eye begin to twitch violently as the incredible power that Shi possessed continued to wash over him. "You wouldn't use that thing on me, would you?" he asked with a nod to the scythe.

With a smirk, Shi silently twirled his scythe over his head one more time and pointed the silver blade at Kasushiusu's crooked nose. "What do you think?" he asked.

Kasushiusu took several steps back and shook with fear, realizing that he had run out of tricks. He knew that all Shi had to do was to say those three words and he would have joined Nosufuratsu and all of his other obliterated demons in the Abyss.

Glancing at Tamashii and her two friends for a moment and then back at Shi, he sneered at them and took hold of his purple cape as he growled, "Mark my words, Guardians: I'll be back for you, and you can count on it!"

Pivoting on his heels, Kasushiusu quickly vanished before one of the four Angelic Guardians could attack him.

"And we'll be waiting," said Tamashii.

"That was a close call!" said Iinaka with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah. If it wasn't for Shi—"

Tamashii turned to where Shi had been standing to thank him for his assistance, but he was nowhere to be seen until she caught him walking up the path toward the bushes at the end of the parking lot. "Hey, wait up, Shi!" she called to him.

He stopped in his tracks but did not bother to look back at her. "What do you want?" he asked coldly.

"Well, I just want to thank you for saving our lives," replied Tamashii meekly.

"Spare me your kindness!" he spat. "I didn't come here to save you or your friends."

"But—"

"I know Myoujou and Kasushiusu are after me and the next Guardian, but I work with no one, especially girls."

"Hey!" cried Iinaka indignantly. "What's wrong with working with us? What did we do to piss you off?"

"You didn't bother to put up a fight when Kasushiusu held Tamashii hostage!" grounded out Shi. "You should have done something!"

"But we would have lost Tamashii!" argued Medetai.

"The hell you would have!" hissed Shi as he turned to face the trio. "Kasushiusu knows better than to kill her! He was only trying to make you give into him by threatening her life! What would you have done if I didn't show up?"

"We would have fought him!"

Shi narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "No, you wouldn't have. You would have handed over your Seed Crystals out of cowardice, and I have no room for cowardice. That is why I won't work with girls. Women are the weakest creatures Shinmei has ever created. Look at your mother Ibu! Had she learned how to resist Myoujou, she would have not caused my father Adan to leave I-den!

"I refuse to work alongside a person who is too weak to take a stand for his fallen man. If you can't defend yourself or your friends, how are you going to defend the world from Myoujou in the final battle?"

He looked down at the remains of Nosufuratsu, and he picked up the crystal sphere that had belonged to the fraternity member who was still lying on the cement in a coma. Tossing the object to Medetai, he said, "Make sure this gets returned to its rightful owner."

Medetai caught the sphere in her hands and watched Shi disappear behind the bushes. "What a _baka!_" she snorted. "What gives him the right to think that we're weak?"

"I think he's the one who's weak," scoffed Iinaka as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Doesn't he know his history? There were women who did some of the bravest acts in the world!"

"I would have never imagined the Grim Reaper as being a sexist," mused Medetai before she looked over at her leader. "What do you think, Tamashii?"

But Tamashii's sad gaze never left the bushes as tears began to form in her brown eyes. Several sobs escaped from her lips, and she started to weep uncontrollably.

"Tamashii, what's wrong?" asked Medetai, reaching out to take her leader by the arm.

"I think Shi's belittling got the best of her," replied Iinaka.

"I don't blame her. He was pretty rude to all of us."

"But I'm not a coward!" snapped Tamashii as she pulled her arm away from Medetai. "I know I could have freed myself from Kasushiusu if I tried!"

"So, why didn't you?" asked Iinaka.

"Because I was scared, and I didn't want to lose either of you!" said Tamashii with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry I let you guys down."

"You didn't let us down," assured Medetai softly. "It's not your fault that Shi acted like a complete asshole to us. I would have done the same thing if I were in your predicament."

"But Shi—"

"Look, Tamashii, we got lucky tonight. Had it not been for Shi, there's no telling what could have happened, but he still showed up, didn't he? Now that we know his Seed Crystal is good hands, we have nothing to fear."

"Right!" said Iinaka with a nod. "And maybe we can get Shi to join us if we can prove to him that we're not cowards!"

"Do you think he will?" asked Tamashii.

"Of course! He's an Angelic Guardian like us, no?"


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Author's Song Choice:** Many songs from here on out are going to be very dark and sensitive. By dark and sensitive, I mean songs that have unpleasant messages. Since we are now getting into the emotional side of Rizu/Tamashii, it is appropriate to keep the same tone going in these songs. For this reason, I picked two amazing pieces. The first one is Orgy's cover of New Order's "Blue Monday" because of Jeison's sudden attitude change toward Rizu. Her crush on him has something to do with his new and cold personality, but there's something else that you're about to read that also explains his other reason. The other song is none other than the Foo Fighters' "The Pretender" in honor of Tamashii's attempt to prove that she is nothing like the average women and that Shi was only kidding himself when he snorted at the thought of joining the Angelic Guardians. But was he?

Chapter Twelve

Shi's Secret – Jeison Ankokuno Is Shi?

Meanwhile in the ninth ring of Hell, Myoujou sat on his throne with a bored expression as Kasushiusu knelt at his feet pleading for mercy and forgiveness. Silencing his servant's blubbering, he arched his right eyebrow and drawled lazily, "Kasushiusu, how many times have you failed me?"

"Master, I'm telling you it's not my fault! It's those stupid Angelic Guardians who keep getting in my way!" insisted Kasushiusu.

"Just answer the damn question!"

"More than once," mumbled Kasushiusu under his breath.

"And have you ever thought of a way to _personally_ get rid of them before you go about your business?" asked Myoujou.

Realized that the red beast had him trapped with his question, Kasushiusu stopped his groveling and looked up at his master with a hint of embarrassment in his eyes. "No?" he replied.

"Then, I suggest you do something about it then!" barked Myoujou as he kicked Kasushiusu away from his icy throne. "You seem to forget that these Angelic Guardians are stronger than they think they are, let alone you yourself, Kasushiusu. Even your demons are no match for them."

"But my demons are a perfect match for them!"

"So, how it is possible that we're on the losing end of the spectrum when your demons are supposedly equally matched to the Angelic Guardians?" asked Myoujou vehemently.

Kasushiusu sighed as he picked himself off of the floor and answered, "I don't know."

"Well, then, I suggest you start training them harder if you expect us to defeat these Guardians! All your talk is making me think that you don't even have an army!"

Kasushiusu inwardly flinched at Myoujou's cold words. "I understand, Master," he said.

He turned around to walk away, but he stopped in his tracks when he heard Myoujou call out to him, "Wait, Kasushiusu! Our conversation is far from being over."

Slowly pivoting on his heels, he faced the Dark Demon and asked, "Yes, Master?"

"You said that you had a little run-in with Shi last night, no?" asked Myoujou.

"Yes. What about it?"

Twitching his lips upward into a devious smirk, Myoujou purred, "We might have found the key to our victory."

"How so?" asked Kasushiusu suspiciously.

"I watched the aftermath of your little battle, and I saw that Shi is heavily against the thought of working with Tamashii and her two friends. He feels that they are too inferior to his liking."

"Inferior?"

"Yes. Shi is not one who takes this war lightly."

"But, Master, isn't he serving Shinmei?" asked Kasushiusu.

"He works for both of us, but, yes, he has made somewhat of an allegiance with Shinmei only to join the ranks of the Angelic Guardian," replied Myoujou.

"So, why are you interested in winning over Shi? He's just another Angelic Guardian."

"He's not _just_ another Angelic Guardian, Kasushiusu! He's the Angel of Death! He wields the power of death in his hands! Think about it: we could use that power against Shinmei to take over Heaven and the universe! We would be invincible and not even Tamashii and her friends would be able stop us!"

"Yes, Master."

"And if Shi comes to us, not only will we have one powerful Angelic Guardian, but we will also have _two_ on our side."

"Two?" asked Kasushiusu.

"Yes, Kasushiusu," growled Myoujou. "Two."

The following afternoon, Megu met up with Rizu and Beronika on the first floor in the library as soon as her shift at the School of Education was over. By the time she had walked through the metal detectors, she was panting for breath. "I hate working at the very top of the School of Education when the elevators are down!" she wheezed, dropping her messenger bag at her feet.

"Again?" asked Rizu as she rose from the bench beneath the statue of the naked goddess.

"They get used a lot every day because of the number of floors we've got in the building! Why do you think we have so many breakdowns every week?"

"I sure hate to be in one of those cars when that happens," commented Beronika.

"Been there, done that. It's not fun at all," muttered Megu. "So, are you guys sure he's here?"

"Yeah," replied Rizu.

"Alright! Let's get this over with!" said Megu as she hauled her bag over her body once again, letting out a groan from its weight on her right shoulder. "I got a chapter meeting tonight, and I want to get dinner in my stomach as soon as possible! I'm starving!"

Just as the trio had begun their way toward the circulation desk, they saw Jeison and Geiburieru walking out of the archangel's office in the midst of a private conversation. Turning to Jeison upon catching a quick glance of them from the corner of his eye, Geiburieru said, "We'll continue this later. I have a meeting right now."

"Very well, Geiburieru," said Jeison coolly.

With a curt nod at Rizu and her friends, he walked away to the other side of the building toward the computer lab, but he managed to sneak one last look at the trio before he disappeared behind the spiral staircase and away from their line of vision.

"You wanted to see me?" asked Geiburieru.

Startled by the sound of his voice, Rizu snapped out of her reverie and replied, "Yeah. It's pretty important."

"I wouldn't doubt it."

Sitting at his desk a short time later, Geiburieru turned to the trio with a serious look on his face. "You saw him last night, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yes, we did," answered Rizu.

"How did that go?"

"Not too good. He was rather rude to us."

"Rude?" inquired Geiburieru.

"He told us that we were weak because we're women," elaborated Beronika. "You see, Kasushiusu put Tamashii in a bind, and Iinaka and I were given a choice if we wanted to free her."

"He wanted you to hand over your Seed Crystals, didn't he?"

"Yes. We didn't want to, but we also didn't want to see him kill Tamashii either."

"And, then, Shi came to our rescue—well, he didn't really come to save us—and he scared Kasushiusu off," added Megu.

"And by then, he gave you his personal opinion about you, no?" asked Geiburieru.

"Yes," grumbled the trio under their breath.

"He has no idea what he's talking about!" snapped Beronika. "There were women in history who weren't weak!"

"But you have to understand his point of view," sighed Geiburieru. "Shi is like the apostle Po-ru. He feels that women should not have any power of authority. Women are to be submissive to their husbands and to the leaders of the church. He's always been that way since the loss of I-den."

"Yeah, he kinda mentioned his resentment toward Ibu to us," muttered Megu.

"Shi has always had a chip on the shoulder for a long time," continued Geiburieru, taking a quick sip of his hot tea. "While he might not be the oldest Angelic Guardian out there, he is certainly one of the two most powerful ones. He was born out of man's sin the moment Adan took a bite out of the forbidden fruit because he and Ibu chose death over immortality in exchange for the wisdom of Shinmei. He puts a lot of blame on Ibu for giving into temptation, but he also keeps forgetting that he would not be alive if it weren't for that.

"Since the exile from I-den, mankind has misconstrued him as the bad guy and feared him like the plague. People have gone out of their way from having the Angel of Death hovering over them, but he really means no harm."

"Do they fear him because of his role?" asked Rizu.

"Yes," replied Geiburieru sagely. "He is the both guide to the Gates of Heaven and the guide to the Gates of Pandemonium in Hell. He is prohibited, however, to open both gates."

"Why?"

"For Shi, opening the Gates of Heaven would be like snatching away all authority from the saints and from Shinmei, whereas opening the Gates of Pandemonium could mean bringing chaos and destruction into the world. Only the appointed saint and sinner may do so in order to keep the celestial balance between good and evil."

"What about his mortal self? Is he anything like Shi?" asked Beronika.

"Unfortunately for you as fellow Angelic Guardians, Shi's past reincarnations have been the opposite of his demeanor, and I fear that might be the case right now," answered Geiburieru. "While Shi is the dark, aggressive type, whoever he is in this life is most likely loving and carefree. However, he can have his occasional mood swings if he is provoked."

_Just like Jeison,_ thought Rizu.

"That kinda sounds like my cousin Jeison," said Megu.

"Cousin?" asked Rizu and Beronika in unison.

"Well, yeah!" snorted Megu. "Didn't he tell you?"

"We thought you were his best friend!" said Rizu defensively.

"We are, but we're also distant relatives! Why do you think he doesn't flirt around me? Can you imagine just how weird it'd be for your cousin to hit on you?"

"Ew!" grimaced Beronika. "That's just gross!"

"Ladies, could we please return to the point of our meeting?" asked Geiburieru tiredly.

"Yes, sir," replied the trio.

"Megu, does this cousin of yours attend this school?"

"Yes," answered Megu. "In fact, you were talking to him when we were coming to your office."

_No,_ thought the archangel with a distraught look on his face. _That can't be possible!_

Rizu cocked her head to the side and asked, "Geiburieru, is there something wrong?"

"No," lied Geiburieru. "I'm fine. I'm just thinking about how Megu's cousin has been having a change of behavior lately. He seems to be a nice guy."

"_Was_ a nice guy," grumbled Rizu.

"Oh?"

"Rizu has a massive crush on him," explained Megu hastily, "but the feeling's not mutual."

"He's chasing after me," said Beronika sheepishly.

"No wonder Rizu's upset with him," chuckled Geiburieru.

"I kinda had it coming," sighed Rizu.

"Now, Rizu, don't go saying that. If Jeison is interested in you, he'll do the right thing."

"But he's not."

"Then, I'm afraid you're gonna have to get over him."

"We keep telling her that, but she won't listen!" said Beronika.

Geiburieru smirked into his teacup and said, "It sounds to me like Rizu is a victim of the desires of her heart. She's not gonna give up until her world starts to crumble around her. As her two most trustworthy friends, I certainly hope you'll be there for her when she does face the truth."

"But we _are_ there!" exclaimed Megu. "We're just trying to make sure she doesn't go through the pain!"

Geiburieru looked at Rizu, who was sitting in her chair with a downtrodden expression, and said, "There are those in this world who are too stubborn to see the truth until they learn the hard way. I'm afraid that Rizu is one of them."

"Geiburieru, I don't mean to change the subject, but can I ask you something?" asked Beronika.

"Certainly."

"Well, since Shi tends to be rather opinionated and aggressive, will the fifth Angelic Guardian be anything like him?"

"You mean Inochi?" asked Geiburieru. "Heaven forbid the Angel of Life is anything like Shi!"

"The Angel of Life? There's no such thing!"

"On the contrary, there is. The Angel of Life was also created when Shi was born. Think of them as enigmas—one's dark and feared, and the other's light and adored. Inochi is far from being another Shi because of who he is."

"What does he do? Help create babies?" joked Megu.

"No!" replied Geiburieru sharply. "Inochi is the Angelic Guardian who watches over the mortal soul. If a mortal dies too soon before his intended time, it's up to Inochi to save the soul before Shi can lead it to its eternal home. He is like an appeal from death—he gives out second chances."

"That's it?" asked Rizu.

"That and he also resurrects souls."

"Like who?"

"Who do you think, Rizu?"

Rizu shook her head in disbelief and said, "There's no way he resurrected Iesu! Iesu did it Himself!"

"Iesu prophesized that He would rise on the third day of His death, but He knew He could not do it alone!" snapped Geiburieru. "Even with the power He possessed on earth, He still needed that extra boost to make a clean getaway from Shi's control! That's why He made prior arrangements with Shinmei before He came into the world as a baby. He needed to have Inochi ready to help fulfill the prophecy."

"What about the story of Razarasu? Didn't Inochi assist Iesu with that?"

"Yes."

"And the dead child?"

"That too."

"So, he was there with Iesu the entire time all these resurrections took place?"

"Yes," replied Geiburieru.

"Are you sure Iesu had magic powers?" asked Beronika.

"Beronika!" chastised Rizu.

"I'm sorry, but that's the impression I got from listening to Geiburieru!" apologized Beronika defensively.

"I can't really say that I blame you either, Beronika," sighed the archangel. "You have every right to question my King's ability because of your agnostic outlook, but please try and understand that history books can't record everything that happened in the world. You're gonna have to put a lot faith into what you read about His life in the _seisho_ if you choose to serve Him."

"I understand. I apologize."

"So, now that we know that there's a fifth Guardian out there, how do we find him?" asked Megu.

"You already have," winced Geiburieru.

"Yeah, right!" snorted Rizu. "I would have known by now! It's not like he's inside Shi—"

She watched the archangel's face scrunch up into a guilty look, and she felt her mouth drop in complete shock. "You're kidding!" she said. "How's it even possible?"

"It's a long story," began Geiburieru. "Usually, this does not occur for good measures, but as you know, inexplicable things happen as technology advances through time.

"The young man who was chosen to be Inochi in this day of age had a minor mishap while he inside his mama's womb, and he was born prematurely by a good seven weeks. His lungs weren't fully developed, and his circulation of oxygen was severely messed up. It would take years for him to correct his health condition.

"But this was all predestined by Shinmei, and he refused to send Inochi into the world like this. So, he asked Shi to work side-by-side with Inochi when his chosen reincarnation was born a few years later until the day Inochi's shell of a body could hold his Seed Crystal on his own. Somehow, Inochi and his mortal self have yet to merge."

"Why?" asked Rizu.

"I have no idea," replied Geiburieru.

"Can we free Inochi from Shi?"

"No. Inochi has to free himself."

"So, what's holding him back? Shi?"

Geiburieru looked up at Rizu with a solemn gleam in his blue eyes and answered, "Shinmei."

Another week had passed, and so did the final days of January. February rolled in with another snowstorm in the first three days. It was not as severe as the ice storm at the start of the semester, but about eight inches of wet snow covered the entire campus and the school still operated as usual, causing many students to grumble about the president's lack of intelligence. Their only hope was to see an email from their professors every morning to inform them that classes were cancelled.

Inside the warm walls of the library, Geiburieru sat in his office with a cup of hot tea in his pale hands as memories of his prior conversation he had with Jeison began to replay in his troubled mind.

_"Tell me the truth, Geiburieru," demanded Jeison as he leaned over the librarian's desk with cold eyes. "Are the other two Angelic Guardians really who I think they are?"_

_"Whatever do you mean?" replied Geiburieru._

_"I already knew about Rizu for a while now, but you also gave Beronika, and Megu those powers, didn't you?"_

_"They were the Chosen Ones, yes, if that's what you wanted to know," answered the archangel._

_"Why those three?" cried Jeison angrily, slamming down his hands on the wooden surface. "Rizu is not fit to be the leader! And Beronika and Megu? Why them?"_

_"It's all part of Shinmei's plan," said Geiburieru coolly._

_"Oh, Shinmei's plan, my ass!" snorted Jeison. "This is just some sick joke! I can't work with them! You've seen how Rizu fights as Tamashii! Do you really think she's capable of fighting Myoujou if she continues to act like a coward?"_

_"She will get there! I believe in her! For the love of Kirisuto, don't be so hard on the poor girl! She's been through enough!"_

_"So, what do you expect me to do? Baby her like her two friends?" snapped Jeison as he flopped down into one of the two seats in front of the desk. "She's gonna get us all killed if she's not careful."_

_"Isn't that why she has Medetai and Iinaka?"_

_"What good are they if all their powers just cause minimal damage to each demon? The only two Guardians that can eliminate these monsters with just one blow happen to be not only me but also Tamashii, and she doesn't even put up a fight! She just stands there and let her two friends take care of the rest until she's told to finish the job! She shouldn't have to be told to do anything!"_

_At this, Geiburieru nodded his head in agreement. "That you are right, Jeison. But it's not her fault that she can't do physical combat such as kung fu, and it's not her fault either that all of her powers happen to be the strongest of them all. What if she was able to defeat every demon she has faced up till now before Medetai and Iinaka ever had the chance to weaken it? How would they feel?"_

_Jeison sighed and leaned his head back as the archangel's wise words washed over him. "They'd probably be pissed off," he muttered._

_"And even the leader has to step down every once in a while to let the others shine as well," added Geiburieru. "There's a reason why Medetai and Iinaka have to protect Tamashii, and you have to do the same."_

_Rising onto his feet Geiburieru walked over to Jeison and placed a warm hand on his broad shoulder. "Patience, my boy," he said softly. "Soon, all will be revealed to you… and to Inochi, for that matter."_

Geiburieru took another sip as he remembered the look in the young man's eyes in those final moments and how it was a mixture of anger, frustration, and defeat. Jeison did concede to the argument, but the archangel knew that he had so much to learn when it came to trusting others.

With his teacup in his hands, he walked out of his office and over to the circulation desk where he watched the heavy snow falling outside the south entrance of the library. He could sense something bad was going to happen that very night regarding to the four Angelic Guardians.

Even the cold weather was starting to whisper such things that worried him greatly. _They're gonna find out,_ he thought sadly as he looked down at his reflection in his tea.

After having dinner in the food court later that night, Rizu and her two friends walked through the solar-lit courtyard in front of the library as the light snow fell over them. "I just love winter!" she sighed dreamily. "It's such a pretty season! The snow, the beauty of the scenery—"

"I can't wait until spring!" muttered Megu as she snuggled deeper into her black fur coat. "The sooner, the better!"

Beronika merely nodded her head in agreement, but her small smile vanished when she noticed a slick spot of ice just inches away from Rizu's right foot. "Rizu, watch out!" she called.

But it was too late. Rizu slipped on the patch and fell bottom first onto the sidewalk, landing hard without anything to cushion her fall. "Ow!" she wailed. "That hurts!"

"Maybe that'll get her to shut up about the winter," sniggered Megu.

Her taunting came to a sudden halt when a snowball greeted her right cheek. "Hey! What was that for?" she asked angrily at Rizu.

"For laughing at me!" replied Rizu.

She tried to dodge from Megu's retaliating attack but was unable to do so from where she sat. She knew that she would only fall back down again if she tried to stand up, and she was too sore to roll away from the ice.

Beronika sighed in exasperation as she watched her two friends bombard each other with snowballs right to left. She remained neutral in their little war, but when one of Rizu's snowballs hit her in the arm, she gave them a stern look and said, "That's it! You're gonna get it now!"

Within moments, the trio had launched a full-blown snowball fight in the courtyard, but they were too busy playing around to notice of an ice she-demon preying on a freshman swimmer on the men's team. When they heard his screams coming toward the School of Architecture and the bell tower, they immediately stopped their war. "What was that?" asked Rizu.

Beronika began to sprint toward the scene as she replied, "It's probably another demon! Let's go, you guys!"

"Not another one!" groaned Megu before she took off running after her.

"Wait for me, you guys!" called Rizu.

She tried to keep a steady balance as she slowly rose to her feet, but just as she added more pressure onto her heels, her legs slipped up from underneath. "Ow!" she yelped as her bottom hit the sidewalk again. "Can someone help me? Please? Guys? Guys?"

The young man laid unconscious on the cement as the ice she-demon examined the crystal sphere in her hands. "Drats!" she muttered bitterly, kicking the victim aside into a pile of snow in spite of her anger. "Master Kasushiusu isn't going to like this!"

"You leave that man alone!"

The she-demon looked over her left shoulder and spotted Medetai and Iinaka standing behind her with their arms crossed over their chests. "Angelic Guardians!" she growled. "What are you doing here?"

"Stopping you from terrorizing more students!" spat Medetai.

"Get out of here before we make you!" threatened Iinaka.

"Ooh, I'm scared!" mocked the she-demon. "What are you going to do? Melt me?"

Iinaka created a small fireball in the center of her right palm and growled, "I wouldn't mind that one bit!"

"Wait up, you guys!" wheezed Tamashii as she joined her friends from behind.

"What took you so long?" demanded Iinaka.

"Fucking black ice!" muttered Tamashii. "I'm gonna have bruises all over my body come morning!"

"Hmph!" harrumphed the she-demon. "You think you can stop me, eh?"

She reached down into the snow and created a set of sharp ice daggers in her light blue fists. Taking a deep breath of cold air, she blew on the sidewalk beneath the trio's boots and froze it with a thick layer of ice.

"I don't like the look of this," said Tamashii unevenly.

"Me either," gulped Iinaka.

"Let's see how well you Angelic Guardians do on ice!" crowed the she-demon as she skated past the trio at a fast speed, knocking them down onto the slick ground with a swing of her daggers.

They looked up just in time to see her stop on her ice skates and twirl around to face them with an evil smile playing on her blue lips. "Oh, what's this? A game of Bowling for Angelic Guardians?" she taunted as she began to skate past them one more time.

Just as she was about two feet away from her targets, she felt the powerful blow of a staff chip her icy face from beneath her chin. "Oh! That hurts!" she cried as she lost her footing and fell onto the ice. "Which one of you three did it?" she hissed.

"None of them," replied a deep masculine voice.

Looking over their shoulders, Tamashii and her friends spotted Shi standing firm on the icy terrain with his serpent-like scythe gleaming in his hands. "Shi!" they cried with joy.

"Not another Angelic Guardian!" groaned the she-demon. "Just how many of you are there?"

"Too many if you ask me, Furausutina," answered Kasushiusu as he appeared next to his servant. "Go back and take care of the three pests before you were rudely interrupted," he ordered, summoning his sword in his right hand. "I'll personally take care of our unwelcome guest."

"So be it," said Shi with eyes that twinkled in amusement from behind his black mask.

With all their strength in their boots, the trio carefully rose onto their feet one by one to face Furausutina once again. "Ready, you guys?" asked Tamashii.

"Yeah! Let's get her!" said Medetai with a nod. "Shooting Star!"

"Flame Spike!" cried out Iinaka as she combined her attack with Medetai's to create a burning meteorite before it crashed into the ice she-demon.

The impact ripped through her body, and Furausutina felt the icy surface of her skin begin to melt. "No!" she screamed. "This is unfair! Three against one! So unfair!"

"Tough luck, demon!" said Tamashii as she summoned her bow and arrow.

Pointing the shiny tip at her target, she drew back her string and took one last aim before she released the arrow from its notch. "Eternal Damnation!" she cried.

Still melting away from the previous attack, Furausutina was unable to avoid the incoming arrow, and she screamed like a banshee as she felt its tip pierce her stomach. The ice on her skin quickly dissolved into droplets of water until there was nothing left of the she-demon except for a puddle of cold water.

Meanwhile, Shi was having great difficulty battling against Kasushiusu with his scythe while trying to prevent his challenger's sword from slicing the long handle in half. What surprised him the most was that Kasushiusu had managed to avoid his most powerful attack each time. "Damn!" he cursed as the tip of his blade hit the sidewalk instead of his intended target and created a small crater in the cement. "He's too fast for me!"

From the corner of his eye, he spotted the blue demon standing behind him, but his sword came down at his face so quickly that he was unable to completely dodge it.

"Shi!" screamed Tamashii in horror.

The sword cut Shi's black mask in half, leaving a few drops of blood on the frozen cement next to the torn material. Kasushiusu smiled in triumph as he watched the dark Angelic Guardian fall to his knees with his right black glove covering his bloody face. "Giving up already, Shi?" he taunted.

"Stop it right now!" hissed Tamashii as she pointed another arrow at his back. "Leave him alone, or you'll regret ever messing with us!"

"Hmm. I see you've turned the tables on me this time, Guardian," said Kasushiusu coolly, "but just because you defeated my servant doesn't mean you've won the entire battle. Let's just call it a tie for now, shall we?"

"What do you mean a tie?" asked Iinaka. "We won fair and square!"

"I beg to differ, ladies," said Kasushiusu. "Before tonight is over, you will see what I mean."

Pausing for a moment to point at the black _senshi_ at his feet, he added with a malicious smile, "Especially when you have to deal with him."

"What the fuck?" asked Tamashii as she lowered her bow. "What did you do to him, Kasushiusu?"

"Let's just say I did you all a favor," he chuckled before he vanished from the trio's sight.

In a blink of an eye, the ice beneath their feet disappeared and the girls rushed to their fallen ally's for help. "Shi," said Tamashii calmly. "Shi, are you alright? Where did he hurt you?"

"Go away," growled Shi before he turned away from her.

"No, let me help!"

"I said go away!"

"Shi, please!" begged Tamashii, pulling his right hand away to see his injury.

But what she found shocked not only her but also her friends. "Jeison?" she asked. "You were Shi all this time?"

The Angel of Death glared at her with cold blue-hazel eyes full of anger, and he was barely aware of the trickle of blood that was running down both sides of his nose. "Are you happy now, _Rizu?_" he spat. "Are you glad your curiosity got you this far, to see me like this?"

"How did you know?" whispered Tamashii quietly.

"I've known all this time that you were Tamashii since the day you stumbled into me in the library a few weeks ago! I listened to your conversation with Geiburieru until you ran out of the room," replied Shi icily. "As for Beronika and Megu, it all made sense to me when I remembered the incident with the hotdog man in the Village last semester! Whenever you had to talk to Geiburieru at the library, I had a gut feeling you three were up to something besides studying.

"I knew my instincts were correct the day right after our first encounter when I talked to Geiburieru before your little meeting with him. He confirmed the truth and told me that this was all part of Shinmei's plan. But I beg to differ—this is a mistake! You're not fit to be Tamashii, Rizu! You're the weakest Angelic Guardian I have ever seen!"

"I've gotten better, though!" argued Tamashii. "I saved your life before Kasushiusu almost killed you! I want to help you, Shi! We all do! Here!"

Kneeling down on her right knee, she stooped low enough to make direct eye contact with Shi. She placed a finger over his wound, and she magically healed it to stop the bleeding. "Now are you going to push me away for taking care of you?" she asked softly.

Shi said nothing nor did he thank her as he stood up and walked past her, Medetai and, finally, Iinaka. He never made eye contact with either _senshi_, which saddened Iinaka greatly deep inside her soul. "Jeison," she whispered softly.

Stopping in his tracks, Shi looked at the trio coldly and said, "I'm sorry Shinmei has to put all of you through this mess, and I'm sorry I won't be your ally or your friend until you can prove to me that you're stronger than this. Maybe by then, I'll join your little team, but not right now."

With his scythe in his right hand, he walked further away from them, but he had taken no more than twenty steps when his weapon suddenly fell on the sidewalk and he heard another voice inside his head. _"Shi, Shi. Why must you act this way to them?"_ it scolded. _"They were only trying to help you!"_

Covering the sides of his dark head and falling to his knees, Shi shuddered violently as he tried to rid the nagging voice. "Leave me alone!" he screamed.

_"They're one of us, Shi. If you think they need to become better Guardians, then you should work with them rather than criticizing them at every whim!"_

"They'll become stronger if no one pitted them! That's how I did it before!"

"That voice… Is that Inochi he's talking to?" asked Medetai.

"I think so," murmured Tamashii.

_Shi, they're girls. They're different from us men. For Shinmei's sake, they have a thing called estrogen, and they're hormonal! Didn't Shinmei ever teach you that? Or have you forgotten how woman was designed to be the opposite of man?_

"For the last time, shut up and leave me alone before I kill both of us!" yelled Shi as he picked up his scythe from the ground and placed the blade inches from his throat. His hand shook from the great power that was living inside his body, and he was having a hard time keeping his weapon still.

Seconds passed and not another word from Inochi's spirit was uttered. Shi snapped out of his convulsion and lowered his weapon. "Damn you, Inochi!" he muttered as he stood up and walked away from the scene, leaving Tamashii and her friends lost in their thoughts.

"I can't believe it!" said Iinaka amazement. "Rizu was right the entire time! Jeison _is_ Shi, and he has _two_ souls!"

"But he's still a jerk," snorted Medetai. "I'm glad he's not with us. I swear if I see him again, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind! Weak, huh? I think with all the bullying he's throwing at us, he's the weak one!"

"Oh, Jeison."

The two Angelic Guardians turned around to find their leader on her knees and her head down as she tried to hide the tears that were running down her face. "Jeison, why?" she sobbed. "Why did you have to be so cold to us?"

"Tamashii," said Medetai in a soothing voice as she walked over to her sad roommate.

But before she had the chance to comfort her, she watched Tamashii take off blindly through her tears toward the direction that Shi had gone. She had the urge to run after her, but she was stopped by Iinaka's hand on her left shoulder. "It won't do her any good," said Iinaka sagely.

Medetai nodded sadly as she silently prayed that nothing bad would happen to her roommate and leader.

After de-transforming for her safety, Rizu tried to follow Shi's path. All the while she was running past the suites, memories of her and Jeison raced through her mind, and she found herself not wanting believe that the goofy, surf-loving junior whom she crushed on was also the same cold-hearted Angelic Guardian who had ridiculed her and her friends twice.

_"Hey, Rizu!"_

_"What's the lecture for the day?"_

_"I can get it all done in two days and get away with it!"_

_"Fine! You can help me do my paper!"_

_"I do have my eye on one girl…"_

_"No worries. I'll win her heart!"_

_"And Rizu? Never be sorry for bothering a friend. I didn't mean to be rude to you at all…"_

_"Women are the weakest creatures Shinmei has ever created…"_

_"You're the weakest Angelic Guardian I have ever seen!"_

_"I'm sorry I won't be your ally or your friend until you can prove to me that you're stronger than this…"_

"Jeison!" she cried out as she picked up her speed to catch up with him.

By the time she had reached the furthest residence complex on the east side of the campus, she stopped her pace and realized that chasing him was futile. Falling down to her knees, she started to cry again as she looked into the starry sky with the crescent moon glowing bright in the distance. "Jeison," she said in between sobs. "Don't… Don't do this to us… Don't do this to me…"


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Author's Choice Song:** It's probably obvious that I was thinking of The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes" When I came up with this title, but it's very fitting. Poor Jeison for being misunderstood.

By the way, I'm picking Limp Bizkit's version. I've always liked it better than the original.

Chapter Thirteen

Behind Blue-Hazel Eyes – The Fall of Shi!

Southside Oukan was the least favorite place for outside university students to drive through. It was the most run-down section of town filled with low-income families and criminals. Houses were falling apart, housing projects and small apartments were stuffed with young families that could not control their children's wild behavior, and the city refused to spend money on fixing the giant potholes in the streets. Even the school district was looked down upon by those who lived just north of the railroad tracks in downtown Oukan because of the lack of funding and quality of education.

But not every street in that part of Oukan was like the ghetto. In a middle-class neighborhood toward the outskirts of town stood a tri-level white house. It was a beautiful house with tall brick walls for privacy and a security gate at the foot of the driveway. To the left of the iron gates was a nameplate with the address 2525 Momiji Lane engraved in pewter.

2525 Momiji Lane had been Jeison's childhood home since his family moved to Oukan when he was a toddler. The only time he left his parents' house was when he enrolled at Oukan University and took up residence in the dorms for the first two years, but he never counted his campus experience as being "moved out". He never left the city limits nor did he move into an apartment to learn the fundamentals of managing his expenses. When his two-year fixed contract with Housing expired at the end of his sophomore year, he moved back under the agreement that he would rent an apartment with some of his long-time friends as soon as he got the money.

Up in his bedroom, which was located above the garage, Jeison sat on the edge of his bed in his black pajamas as he thought about his behavior that night. He was so ashamed of himself and felt foolish for hurting his friends. His crush on Beronika was now ruined, and his friendship with Megu was severely damaged.

And Rizu? He knew he made her cry, and it made him feel dirty inside. As Jeison Ankokuno, he was far from being a heartbreaker, but as Shi, being crass and spiteful was second nature to him. "What am I going to do?" he said aloud, feeling very grateful that his parents and his sister were sleeping soundly on the other side of his door. "I lost my friends because of me."

He looked at the black _henshin_ pen that was lying on the bedside table next to his digital alarm clock, which read 1:04. That pen, which was gleaming from the moonlight outside his window, gave him a personality he was not known to have, and he hated it because of that.

Picking up the pen, he spat on it as if it was mocking him and threw it against the wall above his desk on the other side of the room. He mentally cursed himself when he noticed the object did not break in half. _Like that's going to change anything, you _baka, he thought.

Suddenly, he heard a car pull into the driveway next door and wondered if it was who he thought it could be. He walked over to his window to peek through the white blinds, and he saw Megu stepping out of her car and walking over to the garage door. She lifted it high enough for her to slide underneath, and she closed it behind her with soft thud. Not once did she glance at his direction nor did she notice that she was being watched from afar.

Sighing in defeat, Jeison took a step back and lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry, guys," he muttered to himself as he clenched his fists tightly in anger. "I'm sorry for being such a lousy friend!"

_"Don't be hard on yourself like that, Shi,"_ said the soothing voice of Inochi's spirit from inside his body. _"It's not easy having split personalities, is it?"_

"Why won't you leave me alone?" growled Jeison under his breath.

_"How can I _not_ leave you alone? I've been with you since you were born, but I've been ready to leave for quite some time."_

"I wish there was a way I can do it right now!"

_"I know, old friend, but I'm afraid the time isn't right."_

"When? When will the time be right?"

_"Whenever Shinmei says so."_

"I'm getting sick and tired of waiting around for Shinmei!" snorted Jeison.

_"Patience, grasshopper."_

"What patience? I have no patience!"

_"So I've noticed,"_ commented Inochi dryly.

Jeison sighed deeply and muttered under his breath, "He's still after me, isn't he?"

_"Myoujou? Always."_

"He's gonna get both of us."

_"No, he won't,"_ argued Inochi. _"If I must, I'll make sure one of us gets out alive."_

"Who? Me?"

_If you wish._

"No," replied Jeison. "I'll suffer the consequences for my actions. You're a better Guardian than I would ever be."

_"You're only saying that because I hold no grudge against woman. But, Shi, you keep forgetting that woman's sin was the cause of your birth. If it wasn't for Ibu, you wouldn't be here right now, and neither would I."_

"Are you trying to cheer me up?" asked Jeison sardonically.

_"I'm trying to get you to see my point of view!"_ said Inochi in exasperation. _"Think of life as we know right now if Ibu didn't take the fruit! You wouldn't be born because there would be no death, I wouldn't be here either because there would be no reason for me to renew or revive, and there would be no Iesu because everything would be perfect according to Shinmei!"_

"Your point?"

_"The point is that while woman is the most dangerous and manipulative creature known to man, she is far from being weak. She's just another _senshi_ like you and I, whether it's on the battlefield or at home with the children."_

"I wish you didn't say that," mumbled Jeison as he wiped away a loose tear from his right eye.

_"Why's that?"_

"Because you got this shell all emotional with your words!"

_"Shi, Jeison Ankokuno is a very loving, compassionate person."_

"I know!" snapped Jeison. "Why didn't Shinmei choose someone like me?"

_"Well, would you want to be friends with someone as cruel as you?"_

"Not really. Hell, I don't want to be friends with myself right now."

_"Shi,"_ began Inochi sternly, _"the only reason why Jeison was chosen to be your reincarnation was because of his good-hearted nature. I know he would never harm anyone intentionally, especially the girls."_

"But it's too late to apologize," sighed Jeison.

_"No, it's not. You still have time. You are still in Shinmei's favor, are you not?"_

"At least for now."

Back in her room, Rizu laid beneath her comforter in fetal position as she continued to cry silently. She was glad that Beronika was sound asleep in the bunk above her head, although the brunette knew that she was still hurt from Shi's cold words.

When she returned to her residence complex all teary-eyed and tired, Beronika greeted her with a comforting hug, but she knew that even a hug could not change Rizu's pain. Megu did the same while shedding tears over the young man who was once considered as her best friend.

It was a sad night for the trio, but it was not just Rizu who took the loss the hardest.

Deep inside her soul, she could feel Tamashii's pain as she, too, grieved for Shi. Tamashii felt as if he had stripped away her self-esteem with his coldness, and she could not get over the insults that were controlling her every thought. What hurt the most was her knowing that her counterpart's crush was Shi the entire time she was looking for him and that there was no hope for them as a romantic couple no matter who they were.

"What am I going to do?" whispered Rizu softly to herself as her tears continued to stain her hot pink pillowcase.

Sitting in her bedroom across from Jeison's house, Megu looked at an old picture of her and Jeison from a high school camping trip. She found it extremely hard to believe that her goofy distant cousin was the cold-hearted Grim Reaper in disguise. How was it possible for a loving person to become sharp-tongued monster in just a blink of the eye?

_I should have known there was another reason behind his attitude change,_ she thought as she stared at the photograph inside the red frame. _Rizu's crush might have something to do with it but certainly not all of it. It's not like Jeison to turn cold on her without an explanation. Why did you do it, Jeison? Why did you have to play the bad guy and hurt her? What happened to the Jeison I used to know?_

_"Megu, are you all right?" asked a frantic seventeen year-old Jeison Ankokuno as he watched his fifteen-year-old cousin trip over a tree root that had been hidden beneath a pile of autumn leaves. "I saw you take a quite a fall! You okay?"_

_"I'm fine," muttered Megu as she picked herself up from the dirty ground. "Let's get going, Jeison. The others will want to know why we're at the end of the pack. They might think that we're lost or something."_

_"Wait a minute," said Jeison firmly, kneeling down to open up his backpack and pulling out a small First Aid kit that his mother had prepared for him. "You scraped your knee, and it needs to be treated before you get an infection."_

_"Oh."_

_"Here. Let me."_

_With a dab of antibiotic ointment and a large bandage around her right knee, the young man treated Megu's injury with absolute care and precision. "That should do it," he said after inspecting his work. "As soon as we get back to the site, we'll have to get that cleaned up properly."_

_"Thanks, Jeison," said Megu kindly. "You're such a good friend, you know that?"_

_"I'm always here to help," he replied with a smile._

Placing the picture next to her alarm clock on her bedside table, Megu rolled onto her side and cried against her white pillow. "Why, Jeison?" she sobbed. "Why do you have to do this to me?"

Meanwhile, Kasushiusu approached Myoujou with a smile full of satisfaction and confidence, kneeling at the red beast's feet with his white head lowered to hide the evil smirk that was plastered on his face. "Master," he greeted coolly.

"You better have some good news for me this time, Kasushiusu," growled Myoujou.

"Oh, but I do, Master," purred Kasushiusu delightfully. "It would seem that the three dimwitted Angelic Guardians discovered the true identity of Shi, and he refuses to join their little team."

"And you're telling me this because?"

"The odds of Shi joining our side are very favorable now, considering how he thinks of those little girls," replied Kasushiusu.

"How so?" asked Myoujou with a hint of curiosity in his deep voice. "What is his opinion of them?"

"Not a good one, Master. He thinks of them as being weak just like Ibu, and he has no room for their weakness. Methinks now is the time to bring him over to your care before Tamashii and her friends beg him to join them instead."

"Yes," said Myoujou with a nod of agreement. "The time has always been now, and if there was one Angelic Guardian that would serve me well, that Guardian would surely be Shi. Do you know where to find him?"

"Yes, Master. Tracking Shi's location won't be much of a problem anymore."

"Good. Now, go, Kasushiusu! Find that boy and bring him to me! I will make sure he is treated well by your brothers and sisters. If any of them lay a finger our little friend, I will see to it that they suffer a severe punishment. He's vital to our victory."

"Yes, Master," said Kasushiusu with a dismissive bow as he rose to his feet and disappeared from Myoujou's sight, leaving the red beast alone on his icy throne with a malicious smile and a pair of gleaming, devious black eyes.

_You're mine now, Shi,_ he thought. _After all this time, you're finally mine!_

The following afternoon at the Oukan University Library, Beronika and Megu sat in Geiburieru's office to talk to him about the whole incident with Shi. The archangel sat quietly in his chair, and he felt greatly concerned while listening to their story. After taking a sip of his hot tea, he looked at the two Angelic Guardians with serious blue eyes and asked, "And how is Rizu doing?"

"Not well at all," answered Beronika with Megu, who was sitting next to her on the left, nodding her head in agreement. "She cried her eyes out after I gave her a hug last night, and when I got her some chocolate candies during lunch, she didn't even thank me!"

"She's not cracking a smile every time I do funny faces too!" added Megu. "She just sits there with this bored look! I'm telling you, Geiburieru, this isn't like her at all!"

"I wouldn't have been too concerned about the chocolates, but Rizu not laughing is like a walk beneath gray skies without a single ray of sunlight breaking through the clouds," said Geiburieru. "This is certainly a problem we've got here."

"What are we supposed to do?" whined Beronika.

"Well, what do you suspect is the cause of all this?"

"Jeison—I mean Shi!" snapped Megu. "If he wasn't such an asshole to her, we wouldn't be sitting here asking for your help!"

"I think it's more than just that," sighed Beronika heavily. "We all know that Rizu liked Jeison, but he just wasn't interested in her. Before we found out about his secret, I got the impression that he was starting to feel threatened by Rizu's presence because of her crush. That's probably where part of his rudeness stems from—Rizu's persistence to get him to like her."

"And it's a good thing Jeison is staying far away from her," commented Geiburieru as he took a sip of his tea.

"What makes you say that?"

"I've always known that Tamashii was destined to fall in love, but it was never meant to be with Shi," explained the archangel. "They are both incompatible for each other, whether they are Rizu and Jeison or Tamashii and Shi. As you have already found out, Shi has extreme traditional views toward women and Tamashii's more of an activist for the feminist movement. But when you see them as Rizu and Jeison, Jeison is more laidback while Rizu is intense with her emotions. Even if he did put forward some effort, Jeison would never understand her nor would he _want_ to understand her. They're better off as being friends."

"I knew it!" said Megu. "That's the kind of feeling I get every time I see her looking at him! I can sense that he's throwing up some kind of a shield for his protection, but she's trying to break through it like a ram."

"Aries, I tell you," mumbled Beronika.

"I will say she is quite the stubborn one," chuckled Geiburieru, "but there will come a day when that stubbornness of hers will prove to be her undoing. She's gonna have learn that there are some things in life that aren't meant to be ours for the taking, including the people we know."

"And Jeison isn't one," finished Megu.

"I'm afraid so."

"So, how are we going to tell this to Rizu?" asked Beronika.

"You don't," replied Geiburieru. "Let her figure it out on her own."

"But she already knows the answer!"

"Then, let her accept it the hard way."

"How?"

"By hearing the truth from Jeison himself. She'll only continue to deny what you say to her until it comes directly from Jeison's mouth."

"She certainly takes his word like it was gospel," said Megu dryly. "She'll believe _anything_ he tells her!"

"But there certainly needs to be some kind of closure between them," said Beronika.

"I know."

"And there will be," assured Geiburieru knowingly.

"Let's hope," said Beronika.

"That reminds me, I need to ask you girls something about your battle last night."

"And that would be?"

"Did something weird happen to Shi?" asked Geiburieru as he took another sip of his tea.

"How did you know?" demanded Megu.

"I'm an angel! I look over you three when you're not watching!"

"So, you should know the answer," said Beronika matter-of-factly.

"I do, but I want to hear it from you," said Geiburieru.

"Fine!" sighed Beronika in exasperation. "After our huge meltdown, Shi was talking to himself, and he nearly cut off his head!"

"Oh?"

"Oh? Is that all you can say? Geiburieru, he was being possessed!"

"And we think that he might have been talking to Inochi, but we're not completely sure," added Megu.

"Not completely sure?" snorted Geiburieru. "What makes you say that, Megu? Are you doubting what I've told you so far?"

"Well, no."

"Trust me, every time Shi is talking to himself, you can be certain that it's definitely Inochi's doing."

"So, how do we know we're talking to Shi and not Inochi?" asked Beronika.

"Easy. Shi will always have dominance over his body until he goes into a convulsion like what you saw last night. As mortals, you won't hear Inochi's voice, but as Angelic Guardians, you will and you'll know it's him having a little pow-wow with Shi."

"But why would Shi want to kill himself?" asked Megu.

"Think of Shi and Inochi as the yin yang," began Geiburieru. "Shi is the dark half of the two. He is familiar with the concept of death and coldness, and he's sometimes seen with having no emotions inside his heart. On the other side is Inochi. He represents life, and he is such a lively fellow.

"However, Inochi is also the better half when it comes to knowing what is right and what is wrong. He is kinda like the proverbial guardian angel on your shoulder, and it drives Shi crazy every time he speaks up."

"I imagine so," commented Beronika.

"I cannot tell you the frustration that Shi goes through every time he wants to make a decision on his own without having Inochi interfering with his thoughts," continued Geiburieru sadly. "Shi wants Inochi to leave his body, but Shinmei isn't allowing it to happen."

"Why?"

"For protection."

"That doesn't make sense," argued Megu. "If Shinmei is shielding Inochi from Myoujou, he would get caught either way!"

"True, but it's all part of the prophecy."

"Prophecy?" asked Beronika and Megu in unison.

"Yes," replied Geiburieru. "It has been said that one of the First Five will become a servant to the Fallen One to force out the fifth Guardian from hiding."

"By forcing out the fifth, you mean Inochi, right?" asked Beronika.

"I'm afraid so."

"And by becoming Myoujou's servant, you mean Shi?" asked Megu.

"It's very probable," answered Geiburieru.

"But there's no way Shi would betray us!" said Beronika. "He's an Angelic Guardian!"

"Be as it may, Beronika, even the good guys fall to the path of the dark side," said Geiburieru. "Shi has served both Shinmei and Myoujou because of who he is, and while he is in allegiance with Shinmei, he has yet to become a _true_ Angelic Guardian."

"What do you mean?"

"He must make a covenant with Shinmei to never fall to the ways of evil and temptation," explained Geiburieru. "There's a reason why he hasn't fully committed himself to Shinmei. You see, there were times in historical and biblical accounts when the Angel of Death was called upon by the will of Shinmei, but think of some incidents in history when he was used for Myoujou's schemes."

"The World Wars," replied Beronika, "especially the second one. The bombings, the killings… Shinmei wouldn't have wanted that!"

"No, he wouldn't, and Shi never forgave himself for it," sighed Geiburieru. "He couldn't stop it, though, and he felt very ashamed for leading so many nonbelievers to Hell during those years, especially those in Japan."

"But the World Wars are over!" said Megu.

"That they are, but there's a bigger war coming."

"Another World War?"

"Not a World War, Megu. We like to call it the Second Holy War, or, as you may have heard from men, the New World Order. Politics will be involved, but so will a new group of victims—those who have given their loyalty to my King.

"This is why you were chosen to fight. You are to be the resistance in the wake of Myoujou's rise to power when the end of the times has arrived. You will lead a legion of angels to fight his demons and to stop his reign of evil over the world. You will defy the government and those who oppose you, and you will rebel against all authority that is not granted from Heaven."

"So, Myoujou's after Shi because he wants him to help destroy the world?" asked Beronika.

"Not the world, Beronika. Myoujou wants to destroy _kirisutokyou_ and everything that concerns Iesu," elaborated Geiburieru. "The King's return to earth will be the end of his worldwide dynasty. By having Shi on his side, his army is bound to grow if he assigns Shi to kill every human being on the planet."

"And what about Inochi?" asked Megu softly. "Can he do anything to stop this from happening?"

"I'm not sure," confessed Geiburieru, "but I have a feeling it won't be Inochi who will set Shi on the right path."

"New World Order, huh?" asked Megu as the two girls walked past the statue of the Naked Goddess several minutes later. "I never thought we would live to see it! I always thought it would be many years down the road long after I've died!"

"Me too," said Beronika, "but there's nothing we can do to stop it from coming. We can keep it at bay for a while, but the prophecies have to be fulfilled, whether we like it or not. Obviously, this will happen because we _have_ been chosen. We just have to accept our fate and live with it."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I'm starting to worry about Jeison," said Megu. "And how are we going to explain this to Rizu? She's gonna—"

Megu stopped her rambling when she saw Jeison approaching them from the south entrance of the library. She slowly looked up to Beronika and noticed the sneer on the dancer's face. "B, don't even think about it!" she said sternly. "He's not worth your energy—"

"He broke my friend's heart!" growled Beronika through clenched teeth.

"B—"

"Stay here!" ordered Beronika as she shoved her messenger bag into Megu's trembling hands.

Jeison stopped in his tracks and watched her briskly walking up to him with a cold look in her eyes. With a heavy sigh, he said apologetically, "B, I'm so sorry for—"

_Smack!_

Taken aback by her outburst, Jeison's eyes grew wide in shock as he rubbed his palm against the red imprint of her right hand on his left cheek. "What was that for?" he asked.

"For hurting Rizu!" screamed Beronika. "You have no idea what she's going through right now!"

"That's just it! That's why I came here! I wanted to talk to you about Rizu! I know she's really upset with me!"

"You think?"

"Beronika, please listen to me!" begged Jeison. "I'm sorry for hurting her like that! I didn't mean to make her cry or anything! It's just that she was getting too close to me, and, well, my other half didn't like it. I feel awful for snapping at her. Will you guys forgive me?"

"It's not me you ought to be apologizing to," said Beronika lowly.

"I know that, but you're Rizu's support system. You'd tell her to stay the hell away from me if she was here right now because you don't trust me."

"You're right. I don't."

"Please, B! Please forgive me!"

"Jeison, why don't you apologize to Rizu first?" suggested Beronika.

"Why?"

"Because if you do, then maybe I'll forgive you."

"Where is she now?" asked Jeison.

"She's probably in our room," replied Beronika.

"Tell you what. Have her meet me in the courtyard by the fountain tonight at midnight if she wants to talk about this," instructed Jeison. "If she doesn't show, then I'll leave you all alone for the rest of my life."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely."

Beronika glanced over her right shoulder and gave Megu a worried look. Turning her head around to face Jeison, she let out a deep breath and said reluctantly, "Fine. I'll give her the message."

"Just remember—midnight. Sharp," reminded Jeison.

"Right."

As Beronika watched Jeison walk toward the computer lab, Megu rushed up to her and demanded, "What were you thinking? She's not going to come!"

"If I know Rizu like I know myself, she will come if she wants to move on," said Beronika confidently.

"I'm _not_ going," said Rizu firmly.

"But Rizu, you have to!" pleaded Beronika. "If you don't go, Jeison is going to think so little of you!"

"Why bother? He already does! And I certainly don't need a bigger heartache!"

"Stop saying that!" scolded Megu as she sat down next to Rizu on her bed. "I know Shi and Jeison are two completely different men, but Jeison is really sorry for saying those mean things to you! I know my cousin would never _ever_ do what he did last night."

"But Shi would?" scoffed Rizu.

"He strikes me as a very defensive Guardian," said Megu sheepishly.

"Rizu, please! Jeison wants to make things up with you!" said Beronika.

"If I agree to this, will this get you to shut up?" asked Rizu.

"Yes!"

Rizu lowered her gaze and stared absent-mindedly at the floor. "I'll have to think about it," she said quietly.

"Rizu—"

"I mean it, B! I need time to think about it."

"I see," said Beronika with cold brown eyes staring down at her roommate. "I just hope you are aware that if you refuse Jeison's deal, not only will he leave you alone but you will also lose that opportunity to bring Shi over to the team!"

"Shi's not joining this team. He's made it known."

"You don't know that, nor do you really know Jeison!"

Motioning Megu to follow her, she stepped out of the hallway and closed the door to give Rizu some privacy to think. From over her left shoulder, she heard Megu snort, "You were saying?"

"Okay, so maybe I don't know her all too well," replied Beronika, "but I hope we got our point across."

"You better."

Meanwhile, Rizu listened to their conversation from the other side of the door and sighed in defeat. Beronika had a point. If she turned down her one and only opportunity to win Shi over, she would only prove that he was right about her all along.

_I am not weak,_ she thought as she pulled out her _henshin_ pen from her pants pocket. _I will prove to Shi that I can be brave._

_But why does talking to him have to be so fucking hard?_

Later that night, Beronika and Megu heard the deep tones of the clock tower chiming in the distance as they stood on the steps of the library. It was a great location to spot Rizu no matter which path she took to get to the courtyard, but after checking their watches when they heard the bells, they started to wonder if Rizu was going to show up after all.

Sipping on her hot cocoa from the coffeehouse in the Village, Megu asked for the umpteenth time, "Are you sure about this?"

"Again, Megu, I'm sure!" sighed Beronika in exasperation. "She might be making up her mind right now!"

"Yeah, on not coming!"

"Oh, stop being so pessimistic about it!" snapped Beronika.

"Well, stop being so hopeful!" argued Megu. "Let's face it, B! Rizu isn't coming! She made it loud and clear when she said that she would think about it! When someone says something like that, it usually means no! And I don't believe I was hallucinating when we had this discussion with her today!"

Before Beronika could utter another word, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice at the foot of the cement staircase. "Hey! Are you two going to stand there and bicker for the next five minutes, or are we going to do something about Shi?" called Rizu as she shivered from the cold with her hands tucked deep inside of her black winter coat. "We don't have all night, you know!"

With a smirk of triumph on her face, Beronika turned to Megu and said, "Told you so!"

"You laid the guilt trip on her," said Megu coolly.

"And it worked," said Beronika before she dashed down the steps to meet up with her roommate.

After indulging herself with the final drop of her rich drink, Megu tossed the Styrofoam mug into the nearest trashcan and began to run after her friends who were leaving without her. "Hey! Wait up!" she called to them.

In the courtyard on the other side of the building, Jeison sat impatiently on a wooden bench as doubts and fears ran through his restless mind. "She's not going to come," he mumbled under his breath. "Way to go, Ankokuno! You just had to blow it by being such a jackass to her!"

As he rose to his feet to go to his SUV in the parking garage, he sensed a dark presence lurking in the shadows. His lips curled upward into a knowing smirk, and he said in a loud voice, "Come out of hiding, Kasushiusu! I know you're there!"

The blue demonic commander stepped out from behind a bare cherry blossom tree and into the light from the streetlamp that was shining above him. "You know me all too well, Shi," he purred.

Wordlessly, Jeison immediately transformed into Shi with his scythe in his right hand. "You were always one for hiding," he said coolly. "I thought you would have gained an ounce of bravery after your execution."

"Old habits die hard."

"What do you want, Kasushiusu?"

"You, Shi," replied Kasushiusu firmly. "I know that you've been trying to understand where you fit in the scheme of things. Being the Grim Reaper is not an easy task to uphold, and I understand your frustration. It's easy being misunderstood when all you really have are good intentions, no?"

"What's your point?" growled Shi as he narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to offer you a deal."

"Forget it!"

"But you don't know what I was about to say!"

"I'm not interested!"

Kasushiusu smirked as he slowly began to circle around Shi. "You should be," he said, "because if you do accept this deal, Master Myoujou is willing to help you with your… curse."

"Curse?" asked Shi in confusion.

"Inochi," elaborated Kasushiusu. "Master Myoujou will help you separate him from your body so you may be free to do whatever you desire without an argument. I think it's a shame that Shinmei tied you down by creating you with _two_ souls. I like to think of it as a punishment with such a curse like yours. Wouldn't you agree?"

_"That's not true, Shi! None of that is true"!_ interjected Inochi's spirit from within Shi's mind. _"You know it's not a curse that made you this way! It was something you were asked to do when your mortal flesh was conceived, and you agreed to it. Remember?"_

"That was not a curse! That was a choice!" barked Shi.

"And Master Myoujou can rectify it if you let him!" snarled Kasushiusu.

"What is it that I have to do if I want to get rid of Inochi?"

"Pledge yourself to Master Myoujou."

"Now, why would I want to do that?"

"I know the mean things people say about you because they _fear_ you," replied Kasushiusu. "They don't want to die every time they catch a glimpse of your face. They think you're evil, but you're nothing compared to the greater evil of all."

"Myoujou?" asked Shi.

"No. Shinmei."

"What makes Shinmei the greater evil? He created the universe!"

"But he also destroyed his own creation with the flood!" countered Kasushiusu. "He manipulates people into thinking that there is a Heaven, that the Savior was indeed his Son, and that Iesu will return one day! And do you know just how stupid mankind is? The Savior isn't coming, Shi, and there are people who believe that he will in this life! They waited over a millennium ago, and they waited when the year 2000 arrived. But what happened? _Nothing!_ No Iesu, no rapture, _nada!_"

"And you think that calling Shinmei a deceiver will make me declare myself as a traitor to his cause?" inquired Shi with an arched eyebrow.

"What cause? There is no cause!" argued Kasushiusu. "He's just messing with your head, boy! He's lying through his teeth! Iesu isn't coming back! He can't! He's dead, right? I mean you were the one who led him to his grave, weren't you?"

_"Don't listen to him, Shi!"_ cried Inochi.

"Look, Shi, you and I know you crave for power, and Myoujou is willing to let you have that power if you come with me," continued Kasushiusu. "You wouldn't get a single lick of it if you went with Shinmei and his weak Angelic Guardians. Oh, yes, I have heard your opinion of them, and I agree—they _are_ weak! They don't stand a chance against Myoujou, and with you by my side, we can prove to them just how weak they are without you!"

_Shi!_

"So, what do you say, Shi? Shinmei or Myoujou?" asked Kasushiusu as he put his right hand out in front of him.

Shi had started to lift his hand when he then heard the blue demon add silkily, "Remember, Shi, Master Myoujou will free you from Inochi."

_Shi, don't!_ screamed Inochi.

But Shi quickly tuned out the Angel of Life's voice from his mind as he grabbed Kasushiusu's inviting hand with his.

Walking along the east wing of the library, Rizu and her friends stopped in their tracks when they heard Kasushiusu's cackling from the courtyard. "That's Kasushiusu!" she exclaimed.

"This can't be good," commented Megu.

"What's he doing here?" asked Beronika.

"Jeison!" called Rizu as she ran toward the courtyard, feeling a sense of fear creeping through her veins. "Jeison! Jeison!"

When they had reached the courtyard, the trio watched in horror as Kasushiusu filled a stunned Shi with dark energy to seal their "agreement". "Oh no! We're too late!" cried Megu.

"That you are, Guardians!" crowed Kasushiusu. "And he's finally mine!"

"Let him go!" ordered Rizu as she pulled out her _henshin_ pen.

"I don't think so!" said Kasushiusu. "Until next time, Angelic pretties!"

Pulling a mindless Shi into his embrace, he grabbed his purple cape and with a fling, he vanished into thin air.

"Damn it!" cried Rizu as she fell down to her knees and pounded the cement with her fists. "And we almost had him too!"

"I don't think we _were_ going to get him, Rizu," said Beronika quietly. "I think he might have made up his mind a long time ago."

"But Myoujou can't have him! I _won't_ let him!" protested Rizu. "He has to be ours! He's one of us!"

Lowering her gaze to the ground, she began to cry. "Why?" she choked. "Why did you do it, Jeison? Why him?"

She soon felt Beronika's soothing arms holding her and instinctively leaned further into the comforting embrace as she cried against her roommate's right shoulder. "Go ahead, Rizu," said Beronika calmly with tears forming in her eyes. "Let it all out."

Megu, too, began to cry as she looked up into the cloudy sky with her fists at her sides. In the distance, she heard the bell tower announcing the midnight hour above the sound of her friends sobbing together over their loss. "What now?" she asked under her breath.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Author's Choice Song:** I totally went old-school on this song, and I picked one of my favorite classical pieces by the great Beethoven: "Moonlight Sonata". I thought it would be a beautiful, haunting piece for Deibiddo to play toward the second half of this chapter. What better song than "Moonlight Sonata" to mourn to?

Chapter Fourteen

Rizu Meets Oukan's Beethoven – Enter Deibiddo Fushimawashino!

Kasushiusu stood vigilantly next to the ice crystal that held Shi trapped inside as dark energy continued filled his captive's body. He was pleased that the most wanted Angelic Guardian was finally under Myoujou's control after what seemed to be millenniums. Moreover, he had pleased his master greatly that he had attained the title of lordship. He had finally got what he thirsted for since the days of Shi-za, and it felt good to be in a powerful position like a king.

Placing his right hand on the clear crystal glass above the Angel of Death's limp body, he felt a surge dark power radiating from Shi as he laid in a bed of crystals that surrounded him from head to toe. Black magic entered his veins through patches of skin and open pores that had been exposed to the negative aura. Though he was still clad in his Guardian attire, his gold cross charms were replaced with silver demonic ones as proof of his new allegiance.

"Soon, you will be ready to fight," murmured Kasushiusu, "but not right away. You need your rest first. Otherwise, you might not live through the separation, and that would be such a pity."

Behind his back, a white energy ball floated about the room in disappointment as it watched the sleeping Guardian absorb the negative energy. Sighing softly in disbelief, it whispered, "Why, Shi? Why did you give into Myoujou like that? Why did you give up?"

The soft, angelic words reached the demon's pointy ears, and the energy being quickly vanished as Kasushiusu looked over his left shoulder. "Who's there?" he hissed.

But no reply was heard, leaving Kasushiusu wondering if that could have been Inochi.

_But there's no way it's him,_ he thought as he turned his gaze back to his unconscious prized possession. _He still lives within Shi. Then, who was it that I heard? An angel?_

A week after Jeison's disappearance, Rizu reached down next to her side of the desk and grabbed her messenger bag off of the floor. She wiped away the sleepiness in her eyes when she noticed her reflection in the mirror across the room. Black rings were forming around her eyes, and she started to look more raccoon than woman because of her lack of sleep.

She turned her head to Beronika, who was working on her Astronomy homework on the top bunk of the loft, and said with a ghost of a smile, "I'll be back, B. I need to talk to Geiburieru about some stuff."

Her only reply was a simple nod of the head.

When she heard the sound of the door latching shut, Beronika shook her head and let out a deep sigh. Ever since Kasushiusu took Shi away, she noticed that Rizu had been avoiding everything that was related to the Angelic Guardians—church services, the library, Geiburieru, Megu, and, as much as she hated to admit, her. She hoped that Rizu was going straight to the library just like she said, but she frowned as an uneasy feeling began to settle into her stomach.

Suddenly, her cell phone went off, and she nearly bumped her head against the plaster ceiling above her. "I hate this bunk," she grumbled.

She reached around for her cell phone and noticed that her boyfriend was calling her. The last time she talked to him was a few days before Valentine's Day, and she was expecting a gift in the mail from him. The gift never came, and she started to become worried.

With shaky fingers, she lifted the cover to her phone and asked, _"Moshi moshi?"_

"B, we need to talk," said Buraian on the other line.

_Shit,_ thought Beronika. "About what?"

"Us."

"Go on," she urged as she prepared herself for the inevitable.

"I can't lie to you anymore, and I'm sorry that it has to come down to this."

"Come down to what? Buraian, what's going on?"

"B, I'm sorry, but I think we need to take a break," replied Buraian. "This relationship has been really stressful to me, and—"

"Does it have anything to do with your ex?" spat Beronika.

"Well, yes."

"But I thought you were over her!"

"I was, but when she came back home to stay during the holidays, she was like the only person who stood beside me while you went off to Oukan to study dancing!"

"And you still have feelings for her?"

"Yes."

"So, when were you going to tell me? Once I got home next month for spring vacation? Or were you going to just keep it a secret and continue to do this behind my back?" cried Beronika.

"I would have told you sooner, but I didn't have the courage to do so!" said Buraian defensively. "B, she has been there for me these days when I needed you the most, but all you care about is dance! I'm tired of waiting around for you, and I can't wait for you any longer if you're gonna pursue this dream of yours! The further you're away from me, the more I lose myself!"

"But why her?" asked Beronika as she tossed her book aside and flung herself against her propped pillow on the wall.

"I don't know, but I feel happier when I'm with her. I'm sorry, B."

"Well, I'm sorry too," said Beronika sharply, "for being your girlfriend, for falling in love with you, and for not sleeping with you!"

Angry and heartbroken, she pressed the "End" button and turned off her cell phone. The last thing she needed was a harassing phone call from Buraian or his new girlfriend.

As she cried into her pillows, she soon realized the similarity between her breakup with Buraian and Rizu losing Jeison. Although her roommate's situation was based on a friendship that had gone awry, she felt the same wretched pain that Rizu was going through but only ten times worse.

Meanwhile in the Oukan Library, Rizu sat at Geiburieru's desk with her head lowered and her gaze on her hands in her lap. "Why do you think he did it?" she asked quietly.

Geiburieru leaned against his office chair with a contemplative look on his face. "I don't know, Rizu," he answered. "There are so many reasons and possibilities out there. I can't really tell you why he did leave you. Are you sure he wasn't kidnapped?"

"I'm very sure," replied Rizu. "He wasn't struggling or anything when we found him."

"Just like the prophecy said," muttered Geiburieru.

Rizu's ears perked up, and she lifted her head in curiosity. "What prophecy?"

"Didn't Beronika and Megu tell you?"

"No. I haven't spoken to Megu since last week, and Beronika is too busy with her stuff to worry about me," said Rizu. "What prophecy are you talking about?"

"It spoke of someone from the First Five joining forces with Myoujou to reveal the fifth Guardian," replied Geiburieru.

"So, Shi betrayed us just to get Inochi's soul out of him?" asked Rizu.

"Yes."

"But that's just selfish!"

"I know it is, Rizu, but it had to be done."

"There must have been another way!" cried Rizu as she pulled her body out of her seat and began to pace in front of the archangel's desk. "Submitting himself to Myoujou was not his only option!"

"If you were Shi, what would you have done?" countered Geiburieru. "Rizu, Shi _did_ have another option!"

"And what was that?"

"His death!"

Rizu stopped her pacing and slowly turned her head to face Geiburieru. "That's impossible!" she said. "Shi would have never stooped so low!"

"If I recall an earlier encounter, he almost did."

"One time!"

"He would have still done it just to get Inochi out of his body!" snapped Geiburieru. "But committing suicide would have made things worse!"

"How so?" scoffed Rizu.

"Not only would he have damned himself to Hell, but he would have also taken Inochi with him. That's something an Angelic Guardian should never do."

"But there isn't another Angelic Guardian like Shi!" said Rizu. "He's one of a kind!"

"Be as it may, Rizu, Shi chose what was needed to be done."

"Just to fulfill a fucking prophecy?"

"Yes."

Rizu snorted and shook her head in disbelief. "All for a stupid prophecy!" she murmured to herself. "Is that what this world has boiled down to? Nothing but prophecies that are left unfulfilled?"

"Calm down, Rizu," ordered Geiburieru.

"I can't!" screamed Rizu. "I lost a friend to the Dark Demon, and I lost another Guardian! How am I supposed to bring them both back? Myoujou won now that he's got Shi _and_ Inochi!"

"He hasn't won quite yet," whispered Geiburieru.

Opening the top right drawer of his desk, he pulled out a _henshin_ pen of gold and white onyx and laid it on the tabletop. "He's still looking for the young man who is chosen to be Inochi," he added softly. "While Shi may have Inochi's soul, the fifth Seed Crystal is on the loose."

"You mean he doesn't have two Seed Crystals?" asked Rizu.

"There's a difference between souls and Seed Crystals, even though the two are sometimes interchangable," replied Geiburieru with a heavy sigh. "Shi was born with two souls in this life, but he chose to accept his condition for the sake of Inochi. Now that the Chosen One holding Inochi's Seed Crystal is physically ready to fight, Shi is becoming restless."

"That's why he wanted Inochi out of him!"

"Exactly. He knew it was time."

"So, where is this guy who's supposed to be Inochi?"

"He's somewhere on campus," answered Geiburieru with a frown, "but his Seed Crystal has yet to be activated."

"Because it's been inactive for so long?"

"I'm afraid so. What's worse was that he already knows about his secret."

"How?" asked Rizu.

"The day Jeison became Shi was the day he met the man who would have been Inochi right now," explained Geiburieru. "I found them at the same time while you were on your holiday vacation, and I explained to both of them what was going on. But Shi got angry with me because Shinmei refused to release Inochi at that moment and merge his soul with that of his chosen mortal counterpart's. The time wasn't right."

"But it is now?"

"I don't know," confessed the archangel.

"I see."

Rizu took one long look at the white _henshin_ pen on the desk and then asked, "How did you manage to get it back?"

"I had Jeison hand it over before he left with Kasushiusu last week," replied Geiburieru.

_"You have about an hour left before you face her," said Geiburieru from his desk._

_Jeison, who was sitting in the chair in front of the archangel, nodded his head in understanding. "But there's something else you have on your mind," he said coolly._

_"Yes, I do," answered Geiburieru. "And I think it's wise if you handed Inochi's pen over to me."_

_Silence stood between the young man and the angel, for Jeison knew why Geiburieru had advised him to surrender the white _henshin_ pen inside his coat pocket: Myoujou was going to get him before his meeting with Rizu. "You think I'm going to betray Shinmei tonight, don't you?" he hissed._

_"I _know_ you will, Jeison," replied Geiburieru. "You're destined to."_

_"Because of the prophecy?"_

_"Yes, because of the prophecy."_

_"But why do you need Inochi's pen?"_

_"If you give that pen to Myoujou, do you know what's gonna happen?" inquired Geiburieru. "He will use that pen to track down the one who is possessing Inochi's Seed Crystal, and he will kill him before that Seed Crystal is activated! Do you really want to walk around with his blood on your hands for the rest of your life, Shi? Do you?"_

_Jeison sighed in defeat. Even though he did not like having the Angel of Life's soul living with his, he also did not want to be responsible for Inochi's sudden death. Betraying Shinmei was one thing, but betraying Shinmei _and_ turning over Inochi to the enemy was another. The last thing he wanted was to be considered as the next Judasu in the eyes of Shinmei, and that was not something he wanted to look forward to on his deathbed._

_Taking out the magical pen from his coat, Jeison looked at it one last time before he placed it on Geiburieru's desk and walked out of the office without saying a word to the archangel in his silent fury._

"So just like that?" asked Rizu in amazement. "Wow, Geiburieru! You sure know how to press Shi's buttons."

"I've been doing it for a very long time now, Rizu," said Geiburieru with a chuckle. "It doesn't take much to get him into guilt trips. The last thing he wants to do is to displease both Shinmei and Myoujou."

"How ironic," mused Rizu with a smirk.

Rizu did not return to her room immediately after her visit with Geiburieru. As she walked down the cements steps of the south entrance, she heard her stomach growling loudly and decided to make a pit stop at the food court across the street. Besides sleep, food was another thing she had neglected while she was suffering from her depression.

Although it was only fifteen minutes after six o'clock, the food court was unusually empty because of the frigid weather after sunset. Sitting alone at a two-person table near the campus bookstore, Rizu tried to call Beronika to see if she wanted to join her for dinner, but when she heard the outgoing message on the other line, she let out a deep sigh and closed her phone shut. "That's weird," she murmured to herself. "Beronika never has her phone off while she's in the room."

She tried the room phone number, but after four rings and the beginning of their shared outgoing message, she quickly disconnected the call before she received the loud beep.

Tossing her cell phone aside, Rizu sat in her chair in silence and wondered what was going on with her roommate. _This isn't like Beronika at all,_ she thought as she took a bite out of her deli sandwich.

But even her small dinner could not calm her nerves. Her heart was heavy with regret and loss, and her brain was full of questions all pertaining to one common word: why. Why did Shi go to the dark side? Why did Myoujou want to take over Heaven during his service to Shinmei?

_And why isn't Beronika answering my phone calls?_ she thought as she entered the cold fishbowl lobby at her residence complex and scrapped the sole of her shoes against the metal runner than ran between the entrances of each lounge. Turning to her left, she opened the social lounge door and began to head toward the direction of her assigned hall.

Just as she took a step forward, she noticed two very distinctive things. First, the entire social lounge was empty for the very first time during the dinner hour, and second, the only sound she heard was a familiar classical piece being played at the black upright piano from the other side of the room.

She had no reasonable explanation for her attraction to the music, other than it was very familiar to her. Po-ra was a pianist herself and played several classical movements while taking private lessons from a local woman in Roganu, and Rizu was fairly certain that her younger sister had that particular piece somewhere in her music library. But it was more than just an old tune that she heard over the years. This tune was sad and depressing as if it was crying out for someone.

_As if it was crying out for Jeison,_ she grimaced to herself.

She saw a young man, slightly older than Jeison and Beronika, sitting at the piano with his back turned to her and his upper body moving along to the melody as the music filled his ears with each ivory piece he touched with his gentle fingertips. His hair, which hung around his face at ear-level, was a dark shade of brown and perfectly straight. He, too, wore glasses like Rizu, but whether or not they were meant for reading was beyond her knowledge. Either way, she still thought that they looked good on him.

The pianist was no stranger to Rizu. She had seen him throughout the year at that particular piano from time to time, either playing or composing a song. _Music majors,_ she would muse to herself.

But unlike all the her previous encounters with, this one seemed to have grabbed her attention for the very first time. Why? She did not know, but she did know one thing for certain: she was staring at him, and she knew she had to walk away if she did not want to get caught.

Just as she took one step to the right, she heard him call out above a soft movement in the song, "It's called 'Piano Sonata no. 14', or better known as 'Moonlight Sonata', written by Ludwig van Beethoven, if you wanted to know."

She turned around and slowly walked up to him, hoping not to startle him from his mini-recital with each step she took. As she drew closer to him, he continued to talk to her with his back turned and his fingers still lightly pressing down the piano keys. "It was written for the Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, a seventeen-year-old pupil of Beethoven's whom he supposedly fell in love with," he said.

Finding the right words to say to the young man, Rizu swallowed a gulp and asked, "Were you talking to me?"

"You're the only person in here other than me, aren't you?" asked the pianist in return. "Don't think I didn't notice you standing over there watching me. I didn't mind it at all. In fact, I was rather flattered."

"I'm sorry, but the song is very familiar to me. I've heard it so many times since my younger sister started to play it at home," said Rizu softly as a hint of embarrassment crept onto her cheeks. "It's pretty much become part of her warm-up routine."

"She's a pianist too?"

"Yeah."

The pianist smirked to himself. "Interesting."

As he moved into the second movement, he nodded his head to his left toward the empty red seat next to the piano. "It's not taken if you want to sit," he said nonchalantly. "I won't bite."

"Thank you," said Rizu before she dropped her messenger bag onto the floor and sat on the cushion to take off her gloves and earmuffs. From where she sat, she was able to get a better look at the mysterious piano player. He had a striking face that was full of intent, whether it was toward the conversation at hand or the song he was currently playing. From the light of the tall lamp next to the piano, she could see his green eyes sparkling like emeralds behind the small lenses of his glasses.

"I apologize for being rude and all," she said quietly. "I don't think we've met before. My name is Rizu Hikarino."

"I know," said the pianist without missing a beat. "You might not know me, but I know you. You work for the Sousei family in the summer, don't you?"

"Well, yes!" answered Rizu, feeling very surprised that this particular stranger knew where she worked during her summer vacation. "How did you know?"

"I work at Roganu Beach too," he replied. "My job is with the campgrounds, although I tend to walk along the boardwalk every now and then when I'm not working. You're also friends with Emeri's grandson, right?"

"Which one?" muttered Rizu. "She has five of them!"

"The one who looks almost like me except taller, nerdy, and gothic," he chuckled.

"Robu?" she asked breathlessly. "How did you know that little tidbit?"

"I had lunch with him one time this past summer and we talked," replied the pianist. "When I told him that I went to Oukan University, he asked if I knew you, and he gave me a detailed description. I kinda surprised the daylights out of him when I said that you lived in the same complex as me."

Rizu tried to stop herself from becoming giddy like a schoolgirl, but her small smile gave her amusement away, which caused the pianist to smile a little bit. "And he asked why we didn't hang out before?" she inquired.

"That he did," answered the pianist. As he moved onto another measure, he added, "But he spoke very highly of you. In fact, he spoke as if you meant a lot to him, like a girlfriend or perhaps more. Are you two dating?"

Rizu fell silent and shook her head. "We _can't_ date. Not as long as I work for his grandmama, that is," she said sadly.

"Pity. He seems to be a good guy too. He's probably better than the bloke who just ripped your heart out and stomped all over it."

Snapping her head up at attention, Rizu narrowed her eyes at him and huffed, "You don't know if I was hurt by some guy!"

"Again, don't think that I haven't been paying attention while I'm sitting at this piano most of the time," said the pianist. "I've watched you for the last several days walking to and from your hall with a frown on your face. And from past experiences, I know that when a woman is upset this long, it's normally about a guy."

"Well, I did like this one guy, but he's been—well, I mean he _was_ pining over my roommate," sighed Rizu. "And now he's gone."

"Did he move away?"

"He—"

Rizu stopped herself before she could continue with her train of thought. She had almost let her secret slip from her tongue, and she was not sure if the pianist was spying on her for Myoujou. "He left me and my friends," she replied. "He thought he could do better."

"And you're crying over him because…?"

"Because he _was_ my friend."

"I see," said the pianist solemnly as he started the third and final movement of the piece. "You know, Rizu, I can relate to your situation," he said. "I just lost a friend the other day after a mere argument. It wasn't anything childish or whatnot, but he just didn't see eye to eye with me on a few things. So, being the stubborn ass that he was, he ended our friendship just like that."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Rizu quietly. "And you're playing this song because it reminds you of him?"

"You could say that. It was one of his favorites," answered the pianist softly. "He used to play piano with me, and 'Moonlight Sonata' was the only song he liked from Beethoven."

"You play very well. Are you going for a degree in music, or are you just some prodigy with a knack at the piano?" teased Rizu.

"I'm very much going for a career in music. I'm actually going into my fifth year in Music Education. I want to either teach a band class or two or professionally conduct one of Japan's finest philharmonic groups. And I'm not only great at the piano—I also play the clarinet and the violin."

"I used to play the clarinet in school," said Rizu.

"Maybe we can have a duet sometime," said the pianist as he slowly played the last line of the song.

"I don't know. It's been a long time since I've played the clarinet."

She sat quietly in her chair for a brief moment until she finally spoke up and said to the pianist, "I think I need to be going back upstairs. Beronika's hasn't been answering her cell phone or the room phone, and I hope she's okay. I guess I'll talk to you later."

She did not expect him to answer back as she stood up from her seat and grabbed her winter gear and her messenger bag, but he caught her by surprise when he hit the last night and said to her, "Deibiddo Fushimawashino."

Slowly turning around, Rizu asked quietly, "What did you say?"

"My name is Deibiddo Fushimawashino," replied the pianist. "You introduced yourself to me, and I wasn't polite in return."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you then, Deibiddo," said Rizu with a smile.

"I can escort you back to your room if you wish," said Deibiddo as he gathered his sheet music that he had previously composed prior to Rizu's arrival.

"It's just up the stairs!" said Rizu hastily. "It's not that I don't appreciate the offer, but you don't have to be so nice to me like this!"

"It's the least I could do," said Deibiddo as he caught up with Rizu, skipping over a few steps to join her.

"Well, in that case, thank you, Deibiddo."

"It's nothing," replied Deibiddo with a lopsided smile.

In the back of her mind, a flashback of the first conversation she had with Jeison the year before ran through Rizu's memory. She noticed that there was a parallel between him and Deibiddo, and it frightened her. Both men were rather kind and cordial toward her the first time she met them, and now, such emotions she felt before began to rise to the surface once again as she felt her heart gradually racing. She had to admit that Deibiddo was attractive, but she could not afford to screw up again.

Sensing a pang of regret from her aura, Deibiddo walked over to the security scanner outside the double doors of her hall. He took out his identification card from his wallet and ran the black strip through the machine, allowing the lock on the doors to unlatch for a few seconds. He held the left door for her and watched her pass him by.

"Thank you," said Rizu politely.

"It's nothing," he said with a shrug as he followed her to the staircase. "Rizu, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah. Shoot."

"Since you and Robu aren't dating, are you—I don't know—seeing anyone these days?" asked Deibiddo.

Rizu could not believe her ears. There she was talking to a guy that she had just met, and he was now asking her if she was involved with someone else at the moment. _Oh, please say what I think you're going to say,_ she thought. "No," she replied.

"Well, I was wonder if you would like to grab dinner with me tomorrow," said Deibiddo. "I'll come by your room and pick you up if you'd like."

"That would be great!" said Rizu excitedly before her joyful expression turned into one of confusion. "But how do you know where I live?"

"All I have to do is find a door with decorations that have your name and Beronika's," replied Deibiddo with a small chuckle. "It'll be kinda obvious, won't it?"

"Well, yeah," said Rizu shyly, quickly looking away from his green gaze. "There is only one Rizu and one Beronika living together."

"In that case, I should let you go," said Deibiddo. "_Konbanwa,_ Rizu."

"_Konbanwa,_ Deibiddo," said Rizu as she watched him walk the length of the first floor hallway. Once she was certain that he was out of earshot, she squealed with delight and ran up the staircase to her room on the third floor.

When she opened the door, she found something that was completely different than when she left for the library that afternoon. Looking up at the top of the loft, she found her roommate crying into her pillows with her face all flushed and tear-stained. "Beronika!" she gasped as she frantically threw her messenger bag aside and tossed her winter gear onto her bed. "Beronika, what's wrong?"

"It's over!" mumbled Beronika into her pillowcase.

"What's over?" asked Rizu. "What's going on?"

Looking down at her confused roommate, Beronika sniffled and said in a broken voice, "Buraian was seeing his ex-girlfriend all this time after spending the holidays with me!"

"I thought she lived somewhere else!" said Rizu.

"She did until I came back from vacation," replied Beronika as she wiped away a loose tear from underneath her eye. "When I returned here and she moved to Koganei, he was the first person she saw right after my departure. They talked, and he finally couldn't wait for me anymore. He didn't want to wait after I graduated! But he knew what he was getting himself into, and so did I."

"It wasn't going to work out anyway, was it?" asked Rizu quietly, closing the door behind her.

"No, but I wanted it to," sniffled Beronika. "I can't believe he went back to her! That asshole!"

Rizu walked around the loft and climbed up the ladder to join her roommate, even though she truly hated heights. She realized that while she was depressed over Jeison, Beronika did everything she could to comfort her and make her smile. That had always been Beronika's nature—to make people happy by putting a smile on their face with a random act of kindness or a hug.

_Now, it's Beronika who needs a shoulder to cry on,_ thought Rizu as she sat next to the sobbing dancer. _Damn! One moment, I'm as happy as a lark, and then I'm full of sympathy the next._

Glancing out the window, she could see the shadows of the snowflakes falling against the glass. She looked down when she felt Beronika's warm tears staining her black cotton overcoat, and she shook her in amazement from realizing the irony of the whole situation.

_How ironic indeed._


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Author's Choice Song:** I know I should have added this sooner, but I think "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult would be a great background music for a battle against an evil Shi. Just watch out for his scythe!

Chapter Fifteen

The Angelic Bard – Inochi Appears!

A week had almost passed since Rizu's encounter with Deibiddo, and the three Angelic Guardians were still getting nowhere in their attempt to save both Shi and Inochi's spirit from Myoujou's control. Although she knew that the Dark Demon was after Inochi's Seed Crystal, Rizu kept her mouth shut around her friends whenever they questioned her of its whereabouts. She knew with Jeison working against them and Kasushiusu hiding in the shadows, it was too risky to let Beronika and Megu join her in the search for Inochi's mortal body. She already lost one Guardian to Myoujou, and she was not going to let him take over another.

Meanwhile, her strange friendship with Deibiddo blossomed into a casual companionship. He would occasionally stop by her room for dinner, and the two would walk over to the food court across from the library. She enjoyed his company very much, but his presence could never replace the fond memories of Jeison that had been burned inside her mind.

_Jeison,_ she thought sadly as the couple walked back to their complex late one night.

Deibiddo noticed from the corner of his eye that something was on his companion's mind, but he never uttered a word about it as he escorted her to her room where Beronika had returned from dance practice. "I guess I'll see you around," he said. "_Konbanwa,_ Rizu."

"_Konbanwa,_ Deibiddo."

Once she heard the door latch click, Beronika turned to face her roommate with her hands on her hips and a slight hint of a smirk on her lips. "So it's Deibiddo now?" she teased playfully.

Rizu shrugged her shoulders as she plopped onto her bed. "He likes me, I like him. Simple as that," she replied coolly.

Beronika shook her head. _Always the hopeless romantic,_ she mused to herself as she pulled her brown hair free from the tight bun behind her head and began to brush out the small tangles at the ends.

But the smile on her face quickly vanished, and she pursed her lips together in concern. "Rizu, tell me the truth," she began. "I know you like Deibiddo and all, but is he just a way for you to forget Jeison?"

Rizu looked at her with a scowl. "No!" she answered sharply. "Yeah, I might have met him at quite an unusual time, but I would never use him to forget Jeison! What do you think I am? A whore?"

"You certainly get around like one," muttered Beronika to herself. "I'm just worried that you might get yourself in a situation with Deibiddo like you did with Jeison."

"At least Deibiddo doesn't insult me!" snapped Rizu. "I'm sorry, Beronika, but can't I have some happiness for once?"

Laying her brush aside, Beronika turned to Rizu and replied coolly, "It's not that I'm denying you from your happiness, Rizu, but I want you to be happy without making a mistake. I think getting into a relationship with Deibiddo so soon isn't the answer."

"I never said we were in one to begin with!"

"No, but you're thinking about it," said Beronika softly. "I know you, Rizu, and I'm telling you right now to not get in over your head. If he wants to be in a relationship with you, he'll tell you. But for the time being, you've got to play it low, especially with that little secret of yours."

_She's right,_ nagged the voice inside Rizu's head. _You better not rush things with this one. Besides, you don't want to let him in on the truth. You don't know if he's the enemy or not!_

Rising to her feet, she balled up her fists as she clenched her teeth, and she stormed out of the room in tears, leaving a worried Beronika in her wake. "Rizu!" she called as she stood in the hallway and watched her roommate walk quickly to the east entrance of their floor with her hair flying wildly behind her beneath her grey beret.

"Rizu," she whispered under her breath.

Little did Rizu know that she was being watched from the fourth floor of the stairwell by a certain pair of sad green eyes.

"Has he risen from his sleep, Kasushiusu?"

Kasushiusu knelt before Myoujou in respect as his white hair hung around his face like a curtain. "Yes, Master," he replied. "He's now ready to begin the spiritual separation."

"Very good, my servant," purred Myoujou with delight. "Have Shi destroy those pretty angels. Then, when Inochi's spirit is freed from his body, capture him and bring him to me. With the power of both Angelic Guardians in my possession, Shinmei will wish he never kicked me out of Heaven!"

Rising to his feet, Kasushiusu was seen with an evil smile on his face, for he was thoroughly pleased with himself for making Myoujou happy with his report. _Prepare to meet your match, Guardians,_ he thought maliciously as he imagined his new _senshi _destroying the trio that stood in his way from obtaining victory for the Dark Demon.

Holding a Styrofoam cup of hot cocoa in her hands, Rizu stood along the lookout point of the main river that ran through the city of Oukan and watched the streetlights bounce off the watery surface like the stars above her. She knew that it was unwise for her to be out alone, but she could not think in the comfort of her own room as long as Beronika was there to criticize her.

Carefully sipping her drink, she lowered her gaze to the nearly frozen river. _I don't think I'm in a relationship with Deibiddo,_ she thought. _I mean what's wrong with a few dinner dates, if that's what he wants to call them, and a casual stroll through the campus? It's not like we're _actually_ an item! Besides, I haven't kissed him yet!_

_But maybe Beronika's right. Maybe I do need to take things slow with Deibiddo in case something doesn't work out for us and I get hurt. The thing is we haven't done anything as far as terms of intimate and physical contact are concerned. It's not that I have no interest in making out with him, and I don't intend on sleeping with him out of selfishness. I've made the mistake of making my intentions known once before._

_Yeah. Look where it got you with Jeison._

Cringing at Tamashii's cynical remark from inside her head, she muttered under her breath before taking another casual sip, "Shut up."

"You know what they say about people who talk to themselves, don't you?"

Looking over her left shoulder, Rizu smiled as she noticed Deibiddo, who was dressed in his favorite black wool overcoat, standing behind her with a cup of coffee in his hands. "People who talk to themselves are usually loners and need to 'hear' another voice to help them with their inner thoughts," he added in a teasing voice.

"How did you know I was here?" asked Rizu with a smirk on her face.

"I saw you running from your floor just as I was going upstairs for the night, and I followed you through the Village while you were getting your drink," he replied as he joined her, propping his arms on the black iron railing. "You seemed upset about something," he commented dryly. "Care to talk to about it?"

Sighing softly, she shook her head. "It's nothing, really," she said hastily.

"Nothing worth crying over, huh?"

"You could say that."

"So, why did I see you crying when you ran down the stairs?" asked Deibiddo as he took a sip from his cup, fully aware that the girl next to him was being hesitant of telling him the truth.

"I…" began Rizu. "I don't know how to explain it."

"Was it something Beronika said?"

"I guess that's a start," she chuckled. "Yes, she said something."

"Well, what did she say?" asked Deibiddo.

Looking up at him with sad eyes, Rizu asked quietly, "Deibiddo, where do _you_ think we are?"

Deibiddo sighed. He knew such question would be brought up somewhere along the way, but at the same time, he felt that it would not be appropriate to be completely honest with Rizu. "As in boyfriend and girlfriend?" he asked.

"Well, yeah," replied Rizu.

"It's complicated," he shrugged. "I like you and I _am_ very fond of you, but…"

"But what?"

"But there's something about you that I can sense you're holding back from me," he continued softly as he took her left hand into his right. "I know a relationship, or even a friendship, requires trust. I don't know about you, but I'm not one for holding back secrets. I trust you, Rizu, with all my heart, and I trust that you will tell me what's been eating you up. Not right now, of course, but in time whenever you're finally ready."

Squeezing his grip, his green gaze met her brown orbs as he said, "Promise me, Rizu."

Without thinking twice, she nodded her head in response. "I promise, Deibiddo."

"Good," he said with an assuring smile.

As he finished the last drop of his coffee, Deibiddo tossed his insulated cup into the trashcan next to him and offered his left arm to Rizu. "Would you like to take a walk?" he asked. "The stars look rather lovely tonight, and I hate to see you freeze out here, especially with you being out and about alone this far from campus."

Looping her right arm around him, Rizu smiled with a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "I'd love to," she replied.

They went from the river trail to the city park that was only a few blocks up the street. Rizu noticed that they were not the only ones around in the area after she spotted several other university couples enjoying a night in the park. She saw students snuggled up on wooden benches to stay warm under fleece blankets while others walked past them holding hands as a token of their affection.

Rizu and Deibiddo, however, decided to sit in a secluded spot of the park to get away from the public eye. She had her head resting on his left shoulder with her eyes closed and a small smile on her face while he had wrapped his left arm around her shoulder to keep her warm.

Neither of them noticed the two pairs of eyes—one full of curiosity and the other of disappointment—that were spying on them from behind the bushes. After catching Deibiddo hot on her roommate's trail, Beronika called Megu to follow her so she could keep a close eye on them. "He better not be planting those lips on Rizu!" she grumbled as she noticed their closeness to one another. "One kiss and she's a goner for him!"

"I don't see why we have to spy on her," said Megu. "She's finally happy after all this time!"

"It's still too soon!" argued Beronika. "She literally went from Jeison to Deibiddo in less than a month, and she's bound to get herself hurt again! And I refuse to go through the same ordeal as before!"

"Well, let me give you my opinion about this, if you want to know."

"Go ahead," sighed Beronika in defeat.

"I think _this_ is a very stupid plan to begin with!" started Megu. "I might be a matchmaker and all, but spying is not part of the job description!"

"Megu, if I remember correctly, you can't even get your own match, and your matchmaking skills are _so_ not up to par! Most of the couples you hook up end up being broken!" criticized Beronika.

"Must you remind me?" asked Megu sharply. "I can understand your point, but I'm also taking Rizu's into consideration. I mean how can you _not_ like a guy like Deibiddo. He's talented, he has a good future, and, not to mention, he _is_ cute!"

Grimacing in exasperation, Beronika muttered, "Don't tell me you're falling for him too."

"But how can you resist such good looks?" asked Megu dreamily. "He's so handsome! No wonder Rizu fell for him!"

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Hey, I'm sorry your boyfriend decided to break it up with you, but I have no intentions on breaking up Rizu and Deibiddo!" snapped Megu.

Turning her attention back to the couple, she said aloud to herself, "Come on, Deibiddo! Lay one on her!"

Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands covering her mouth to silence her from any more encouragement of kissing or other intimate gestures. "Will you stop it and just work with me?" hissed Beronika.

But Megu's movements of protest caused the bushes to rustle behind Rizu and Deibiddo, who quickly looked over their shoulders out of curiosity. "Was that an animal?" asked Deibiddo.

"I doubt it," said Rizu as she stood up and walked over to the bush. Reaching into the dull needles, she grabbed her two friends by the neck and pulled them up from their hiding place. Scowling at them, she tightened her grip and asked icily, "What do you think you're doing here?"

Pointing at Beronika, Megu said quickly, "It was her idea."

Rizu turned to her roommate with tears in her eyes and spat, "Your idea, huh? I should have known you'd follow me after I left! But why? Why did you do it? Why did you get Megu on this? No, why did you spy on me in the first place? Why, B?"

Beronika flinched at Rizu's words like a knife jabbing her in the stomach. "Rizu, I can explain!" she began before she was cut off by several blood-curdling screams in the distance.

"Enough with the why's! What was _that?_" asked Megu.

"Stay here!" said Deibiddo as he ran toward the direction of the screams. "Deibiddo, wait up! You don't know what's going on over there!" called Rizu, releasing her hold on her two friends before she chased after him.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Beronika as she turned her serious gaze to Megu.

"I sure am!" replied Megu.

Just as she turned the corner, Rizu spotted an unconscious Deibiddo lying on the sidewalk with his right cheek pressed against the cement. "No!" she breathed as she knelt down to examine him. "How did this happen?"

Rolling him onto his back, she ran her hand along his pale jawline and took notice of the sudden drop in his body temperature. "Deibiddo, please!" she pleaded as tears began to form in her eyes. "Wake up! Wake up, Deibiddo!"

Taking him by his shoulders, she shook him to snap out of his coma, but her attempt proved to be futile. She let out a heavy sigh of frustration and cursed to herself. "Fucking hell!" she mumbled.

Wiping away the tears from her eyes, she stood up and noticed that there were other victims lying several feet away from them. "How did this happen?" she asked aloud as she walked through the strange scenery around her.

She suddenly caught a glimpse of a shadow looming over her, but just as she was turning around to see what it was, she felt someone pushing her into the snowbank to her right. At the sound of a particular blade hitting the cement, they covered their ears as a small explosion surrounded the assailant.

"Are you okay, Rizu?"

Opening her eyes, Rizu noticed that Medetai was holding her safe from the intruder's attack. "Yeah!" she replied. "What was that?"

"I don't know how to tell you this," began Medetai as she jerked her thumb over her shoulder, "but you might want to see it for yourself."

Rising to her feet, Rizu looked over Medetai's shoulders to see the black shadow that had crouched over. In his hands was a familiar serpent-like scythe with its silver blade touching the center of the hole that was left behind from the explosion. "That can't be!" she gasped.

The figure turned quickly turned his dark head with a deadly glare at his intended target.

"Shi!" cried Rizu as she reached into her coat pocket for her _henshin_ pen.

"Be careful, Rizu!" warned Medetai as she stood beside her leader.

To her left, Rizu noticed a familiar redhead joining them. "This Shi is not like the one we know!" added Iinaka.

"Then, let's bring back the one we know instead, no matter how much of an asshole he really is!" said Rizu with a nod of her head as she pulled out her pen. _"Tamashii!"_

Once her transformation was complete, Tamashii stood between her two companions as she held her ground for whatever attacks the possessed-Guardian might send her way. _Come on, Tamashii,_ she told herself. _You know you can still save him! There's got to be some good left in him!_

"How touching," said Kasushiusu sardonically as he appeared next to his student with his arms crossed over his broad chest. "You think you can save what's left of your dear friend, Tamashii?"

"I don't think I can! I _know_ I can!" said Tamashii. "What have you done to him, Kasushiusu?"

"Nothing more than what you Shinmei-lovers do to everyone else—a just little brainwashing here and there," replied Kasushiusu. "But I seriously doubt you'll be able to bring him back to your silly group. That is, _if _you can bring him back."

Looking at his pupil, he uttered one command that was spoken in a deep, low voice. "Kill."

That was all the possessed Shi needed to begin his attack on the trio. Jumping high into the sky, he swung his scythe at the three Angelic Guardians but missed them as the girls avoided the assault.

"Damn it! He's going to use the Grim Reaper Touch against us if we're not careful!" said Iinaka as she began to create a fireball in her palm.

"Iinaka, no!" protested Tamashii.

"Flame Spike!" cried Iinaka before she spiked the fireball toward the direction of Shi. The attack, however, failed as he shielded himself with his scythe, disintegrating it into a burst of smoke.

"What did you do that for?" demanded Tamashii angrily.

"If he's gonna attack us, then I'm gonna attack back!" answered Iinaka. "I don't care if he is one of us! He's the enemy, and I won't let him win!"

"But he's also Jeison!"

"Jeison or not, we still have to overpower the dark spell he's under before we can save him!" said Medetai. "Shooting Star!"

Shi took hold of his scythe again and protected himself from the incoming attack, severing the star with the blade.

"How did he do that?" gasped Medetai.

Before anyone could answer her question, Shi shot two dark energy balls at the two Guardians who attacked him. They quickly were thrown against a pair of trees, and the black blobs that held them captive underneath solidified in a matter of seconds like cement.

"Medetai! Iinaka!" cried Tamashii.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Shi coming right for her with his scythe behind his head as he prepared to decapitate her right before her friends' eyes. _This is it,_ she thought. _There's no way I can stop him now! Where's a miracle when you need one?_

Just as the blade came hurling toward the crook of her neck, Shi felt his body suddenly turn cold and cause him to stop his attack just a few inches away from Tamashii. He stood still with his black eyes of nothingness staring down at his nemesis and his weapon right beneath her gaze.

_"Don't you dare kill her, Shi!"_

Tamashii blinked in surprise and looked around her for the owner of the mysterious voice. "I could have sworn I heard somebody," she said.

She suddenly jumped at the sound of Shi's scythe falling at his feet and turned her attention to him. She found him crouched down in a kneeling position with his hands covering his ears. "Could it be?" she asked herself.

"Damn you, Inochi!" he cursed loudly. "Will you ever stop interfering?"

_"Snap out of it, Shi! You're letting Myoujou take full control over you! You don't really want to kill Tamashii or the others, do you?"_

"Leave me alone!"

_"Shi…"_

"I… said… LEAVE!" screamed Shi as he felt his body split in half from the strange separation that was taking place.

A spirit of a dark-haired young man, dressed in a white male Angelic Guardian attire, was hurled out of his confinement and landed on his feet. He stood about five-foot-ten, and he was rather lanky compared to his darker half. His straight dark brown hair reached the tips of his earlobes and was well groomed unlike Shi's shaggy style.

While the Angel of Death wore white onyx gemstones and white trimmings to counteract the black threads of his uniform, the new Guardian wore the opposite with black onyx, but his brooch and necklace were both made out of gold with a white onyx heart gem in the center. Behind the white mask on his face was a pair of sad green eyes that were pleading Shi to stop this battle.

"No way!" breathed Tamashii. "Is Inochi…?"

Looking back at the victims that were sprawled out on the sidewalk, she glanced at Deibiddo's unconscious body and then back at Inochi. _They do look alike,_ she thought, _but how can they be the same person if they're two completely separate beings?_

When he had finally regained full control over his body, Shi's head snapped up at the spirit that had been sharing his body since his mortal birth and scowled at him. "Inochi," he growled beneath his breath.

"In 1936, the British poet Dylan Thomas once wrote a poem entitled 'And Death Shall Have No Dominion'. You know what, Shi? He was right," said Inochi coldly.

He summoned a beautiful lyre into his hands, an ancient weapon that he considered to be his favorite. The instrument was made out of gold in the shape of a heart with a heart-shaped diamond in the center of the golden frame above the crossbar.

Walking up to Shi carefully yet smoothly, he added, "You will have no dominion as long as I live."

"We'll see about that, old friend," said Shi coolly as he took aim at his new target and charged toward him with the bottom of his scythe serving as a lance to knock down his challenger from his footing.

"Inochi, watch out!" cried Tamashii.

Inochi stood his ground and gripped his lyre tightly as he began to play an enticing melody that filled Shi's ears. He focused his green eyes on him, and he watched Shi stopped in his tracks to listen to the angelic song. _"Do you really want to do this, Shi? Do you really want to fight against what you came here for in the first place?"_

Despite of Inochi's silent pleas, Shi remained unresponsive by the strange power of the magical lyre. Though he was placed in a trance-like spell, he could still hear his mentor commanding him over the soft music. "Shi, stop standing around and get that Guardian!" barked Kasushiusu. "He'll be a perfect addition to the Master's army!"

_"Don't listen to him, Shi_," begged Inochi through telepathy as he continued to play his lyre. _"Myoujou is using you to stop Shinmei's kingdom from coming. He'll have no use for you or me in the end. The girls need you, Shi. Shinmei needs you, and I need you too. Come back home, Shi. Please, come back home!"_

"That music," breathed Shi softly.

Taking a small step forward, hebegan to move toward Inochi as he lowered his scythe to his side. None of the three Angelic Guardians noticed any physical difference in their nemesis, but in their hearts, they prayed that Shi was breaking free from the dark spell that had been placed over him.

They held their breaths in anticipation as they watched the Angel of Death reach out for the lyre with his left hand, but their hopes were soon shattered as Kasushiusu used his dark magic to grab his student by the neck and pulled him back to his side. "No!" protested Tamashii. "You can't do that!"

"Try and stop me, Guardian!" spat Kasushiusu as he reached for Inochi with his right hand.

Angry with Kasushiusu for silencing Inochi's beautiful song, Iinaka used all her strength to break free from the solid blob and quickly summoned a fireball in her left palm. "Flame Spike!" she cried as she swatted at the flaming object and hurled it right at Kasushiusu's hand.

"Ow!" he howled in pain and instinctively drew back, observing the burn that the she had given him. "Why you little—" he growled.

"Let him go!" hissed Tamashii as she pointed her arrow at him with a sneer behind her pink mask. "Let Shi go and leave all of us alone!"

Kasushiusu let out a snort of disgust, and he took hold of his purple cape with a dazed Shi in his arms. "You might have won this time, Guardians, but next time, don't think your friend's little harp is going to have any effect on my Shi again. Until then!"

Throwing the purple material over them, he disappeared in a blink of an eye before the quartet.

"I guess that's now the new Shi," murmured Medetai as she broke free from her confinement and joined the rest of the group.

"And we almost had him too!" sighed Tamashii heavily.

"We'll get him next time," assured Inochi softly.

"You think so?"

"I'm positive."

"Yeah, me too," agreed Tamashii with a nod of her head. Reaching out to touch his left shoulder, she added, "And thank you for helping us, Inochi."

But instead of touching him, her right hand went straight through his body like air, which left her and her friends horrified from their discovery. "You're still a ghost!" gasped Tamashii.

"Not a ghost—a spirit," corrected Inochi calmly. "Unfortunately, I have to reunite with the one who holds my Seed Crystal, but I can only do that when the time is right."

"When will that time come?" asked Iinaka.

"When Shinmei wants him to fight," replied Inochi with a sigh of defeat. "I don't know when that day will be, though."

"Do you know who he could be?" asked Medetai. "Maybe we can help you!"

"I'd love to tell you, but you'll have to find him on your own," said Inochi.

He looked up at the sky as he felt a cold breeze rustling through the bare trees all around him and added, "I must go."

"Where to?" asked Tamashii.

"Back to Shinmei," replied Inochi as he began to disappear before the trio. "Don't worry. I'll be back whenever you need me."

The Angel of Life slowly vanished and left the three girls with many mixed emotions of fear, hope, confusion, and relief. "At least we didn't lose this one," said Medetai.

"I'm just wondering where we're gonna find Inochi's Seed Crystal," said Iinaka.

"What do you think, Tamashii?" asked Medetai. "Tamashii?"

Tamashii said nothing as she thought about just how close they were from winning Shi over to their side. _So close and yet so far away,_ she mused to herself sadly.

She felt her lips tug upward into a smile, and she began to ponder more about the battle she faced with Shi and Inochi. _Maybe Inochi's right. Maybe we'll save Shi when we meet again, and maybe by then or even before then, we'll find whoever is supposed to be Inochi in this lifetime._

"Earth to Tamashii!" called Medetai as she waved her right hand in front of her leader's face. "Can you hear me, Tamashii?"

"Yeah, I can hear you," grumbled Tamashii, casually pushing Medetai's hand aside. "I was just thinking."

"About Shi or Inochi?" asked Iinaka.

"Both," replied Tamashii. "They're definitely some enigmas, you know? One's evil, one's good. And yet, they're both… well, I don't know how to explain them.

"I just hope that we can keep Inochi and use him to help us save Shi. Think about it, you guys—we almost had him tonight! And thanks to Inochi, I'm not giving up!"

"And neither are we," assured Medetai softly as she placed her right hand over Tamashii's left shoulder. "We'll get Shi one way or another."

"Uh, you guys!" called Iinaka. "We might need to get going."

Looking back at her, Tamashii and Medetai noticed that Shi's victims, including Deibiddo, were slowly regaining consciousness. They exchanged glances and a nod for a moment, and they quickly followed Iinaka to a secluded spot to transform back into their mortal counterparts.

"Ow!" groaned Deibiddo moments later as Rizu helped him sit up on the cement. "I think I might have bumped my head or something," he said, placing a hand behind his matted hair.

"You'll be okay," assured Rizu. "Look on the bright side! You didn't smash your head open and lose quite a bit of blood."

"Point taken," chuckled Deibiddo. "Was it me, or did Beronika follow us out here?"

"Beronika _did_ follow us, as did our friend Megu," sighed Rizu as she rolled her eyes in frustration. "I apologize for their behavior. I guess they wanted to make sure I was okay, you know?"

"It's not like I was going to ravish you or anything," teased Deibiddo. "I'm too honorable to do that."

"I hope you are," giggled Rizu, helping her companion onto his feet. "Why don't we go back to the dorms? You must be cold!"

"Wise idea, Rizu," nodded Deibiddo. "Besides, some hot cocoa sounds good right now."

In the distance, Beronika and Megu watched the couple leave the park holding hands and staying close to each other for warmth. "Now what do you have to say about that?" sneered Megu.

"I still think it's too soon," argued Beronika, "but I'm not Rizu's keeper. I guess I do need to let her live her life and learn from her own mistakes."

"Well, that's the first thing from your mouth tonight that I'll ever agree with! And I'll make sure this one is a keeper!"

"Hey now!" protested Beronika. "If I have to stop _my_ meddling, you should stop _yours!_"

"But that's unfair!" pouted Megu.

"How do you think I feel?" countered Beronika as she crossed her arms over her chest with a triumphant smirk.

_Payback's a bitch for sure,_ she thought gleefully.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Author's Choice Song:** Well, for this chapter, you got two songs. The first one I picked out goes along with the dinner scene at Sukoti's. I know I covered pop, rock, and classical in the last fifteen chapters, but now I'm doing something different. I chose "The Girl from Ipanema" by Astrud Gilberto because I wanted something jazzy and yet moving in both music and lyrics. The first time I heard this song, I was hooked.

The second song is Radiohead's "High and Dry". I thought it was very fitting in response to Deibiddo's meeting with Megu concerning Rizu. Obviously, it's not going to be a pleasant meeting.

Chapter Sixteen

The Two Mysteries Known As Shi and Inochi – The Angelic Yin Yang Guardians!

Kasushiusu paced back and forth in front of Shi's crystal case as he waited impatiently for another massive dosage of dark energy to overpower the cleansing magic of Inochi's lyre. _Damn that Guardian!_ he fumed silently. _He's more powerful than I thought! He's even more powerful than my best weapon against those blasted Angelic Guardians! That was too close for comfort indeed! I'll have to find a way to break that little harp of his!_

_But how did he do it? How did he manage to break through my control and reach Shi's heart? What does he have that I don't? Charisma?_

He suddenly stopped in his tracks and said to himself, _Wait._ _I already have that_.

Picking up his pace, Kasushiusu continued his train of thought. _There's something about that lyre that attracted Shi to it. Well, of course, you dolt! Shi and Inochi had a history since their creation millenniums ago! He _knew_ what kind of magic that lyre contains, and yet he still went to that stupid Guardian!_

He turned his body around to stare down at the sleeping _senshi _underneath the glass, his face full of uncertainty and worry. _If I lose Shi, I'm either going to be demoted or perhaps killed by Master Myoujou,_ he thought.

Twisting his face into a sneer, he paid little attention to the sound of glass cracking beneath his palms as he unwillingly imagined the humiliation he would have to face if the four Angelic Guardians freed their fallen companion. "I won't allow it!" he hissed, his silver eyes glowing brightly and his hair flying wildly behind him.

At the height of his fury, the case shattered into a million pieces and covered the black Guardian with shards of sharp glass from head to toe.

But Shi neither moved a muscle nor an eye.

The very next morning, the three Angelic Guardians stood around Geiburieru's computer station as he conducted a search for information pertaining to both Shi and Inochi. "What I'm using is a special query program that Shinmei had me design to hold data of every Angelic Guardian in existence from yesterday to today," explained Geiburieru. "It also keeps track of when and where you last saw your ally or enemy like Shi and Inochi."

"It's not like you have a tracking device on us," said Rizu.

"No, but you know Shinmei," sighed Geiburieru. "He's always watching us from Heaven no matter where we are."

"Scary thought," murmured Megu as she felt chills running down her spine. Taking a glance at Inochi's profile that had popped up onto the screen, she then blurted out, "Hey! Someone has seen Inochi already today!"

"Don't look at me," said Beronika. "I was at dance all afternoon, and I doubt Inochi's gay."

"Well, I've been at work all day, and every one of my coworkers is female. I hadn't had a single male student walk through the door while I was on my shift."

"What about you, Rizu?" asked Geiburieru.

Rizu shrugged her shoulders and replied casually, "I don't think so."

"I don't know, Rizu," said Beronika, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just before I went to dance, I spotted you downstairs with Deibiddo while he was playing a song on the piano."

Upon hearing this, Rizu grimaced and let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, about that," she began hastily, "he wanted me to hear his newest piece before he had to turn it in for his midterm!"

"Whatever you say," said Beronika coolly. "You just like being around that guy."

"Ladies, ladies!" scolded Geiburieru. "The last time I checked, you didn't come here to talk about crushes and whatnot! Can we get back to our meeting?"

"Yes, Geiburieru," groaned the duo as they continued to read over their mentor's shoulder.

"Now as Megu pointed out, one of you three encountered Inochi already today," began Geiburieru. "This doesn't mean that this Deibiddo person that you were talking about, Beronika, is definitely him. For all we know, you could have passed him by on your way to and from class. You don't have to talk to him to record this information. You have to be _around_ him within a certain radius."

As he scrolled down the page with his mouse, he also added, "But seeing how Inochi is a musically-inclined Guardian, I wouldn't be surprised if his mortal counterpart is involved with the school's music program."

"Like I said, it could be Deibiddo!" said Beronika as she shot Rizu a smug look of triumph.

"But that's impossible!" said Rizu.

"What makes you so sure?" questioned Geiburieru.

"The last time we saw Inochi, I found Deibiddo among the victims that Shi put to sleep," replied Rizu.

"But Inochi is looking the body with his Seed Crystal, remember?" reminded Megu. "Inochi is just a spirit right now."

"If Deibiddo _is_ the next Chosen One, then why didn't Inochi merge with him?"

Beronika and Megu looked at each other for an answer, but neither of them was able to think of something to argue against their friend's valid point. Geiburieru's expression, however, remained unchanged, for the archangel disagreed with Rizu's reasoning. "There comes a time and a place for everything to happen," he said softly. "Regardless if Deibiddo is Inochi and regardless if he was in the same vicinity as Inochi last night, it doesn't mean that it was time for those two to merge together."

"But if Deibiddo really is Inochi, then why?" asked Beronika.

"Perhaps it's best if you ask Inochi that question yourself."

"He pretty much said the same thing you told us," sighed Megu.

"Then, that's all you need to know."

"But when?" asked the trio impatiently.

"When Shinmei says so," said Geiburieru coolly, clicking on a link for Shi's profile. "Now going back to where we were, here's Shi's file—the other half of Inochi."

"Other half?" questioned Rizu, her face displaying an expression of disgust. "As in _that_ kind of other half? I thought—"

"Let me elaborate," interrupted Geiburieru quickly. "Shi and Inochi are walking metaphors of the yin yang symbol in _doukyou,_ despite of the contradiction of their gender. That's what I meant when I said Shi is Inochi's other half. I was _not_ insinuating a homosexual relationship between those two."

_Kids these days,_ he grimaced to himself. "As you already know, Shi represents the darkness, the coldness, and, unfortunately, the negativity. As such, his powers mirror the yin except for the concept of femininity. That's because the Angel of Death has been implied to be male since his creation.

"Now if Shi is the yin, then that would make Inochi the yang of the two. He is the light, the heat, the masculinity, and the life. Inochi is also responsible for the balance between him and Shi. If Shi or a natural catastrophe causes a disturbance to this balance, it's Inochi's job to fix it."

"But doesn't the yin yang also represent life and death?" asked Beronika.

"Yes, it does," answered Geiburieru. The yin is death, and the yang is life."

"And doesn't _doukyou_ conflict with Shinmei?" asked Megu. "Isn't that a religion?"

"Yes and no. This is one example of where mortals tend to confuse philosophy and religion. Take _doukyou,_ a religion that focuses on the Chinese philosophy of the harmony and balance of life. The religious aspect includes pantheism and magical practices. Depending on which part of pantheism you follow will determine if it goes against Shinmei's law in the _seisho_. If you think that Shinmei is one with the material world and that he's everywhere and in everything, that would be reasonably understood in our eyes, but if you practice the belief of worshipping Shinmei _and_ other deities, that will get you scorned by my King in an instant. As for magical practices, we don't accept such unless you've been blessed by Shinmei to possess these gifts and use them for righteousness.

"In my opinion, I find _doukyou_ to be more philosophical rather than religious. You can take out the religion from philosophy, but you can't take out the philosophy from religion. _Doukyou_ doesn't _have_ to include deities if you don't wish to follow such practice."

"It sounds like _bukkyou_ without the worship of the _budda,_" commented Rizu. "As long as you follow the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path of Righteousness, you can follow similar rules or commandments such as those in the _seisho_."

"Very true, Rizu. Did you know that some of the commandments in the Eightfold Path of Righteousness happen to mirror similar ones of the Ten Commandments?" inquired Geiburieru. "Just like the Ten Commandments in the _seisho,_ the Eightfold Path of Righteousness in _bukkyou_ is full of basic moral guidelines to life. I personally have nothing against a _kurisuchan_ who wishes to live such life as long as Iesu isn't being ignored and Shinmei isn't competing with another _kami._"

"So, does this mean that Shi and Inochi are followers of _doukyou_ and _bukkyou?_" asked Beronika.

"Not really," answered Geiburieru. "They're very much followers of Shinmei like you and I, but they do hold some philosophical beliefs from such religions, mainly because of the similarities you see from religion to religion. It's just that their source of power comes directly from the traits of the yin yang rather than from any physical element that was created by Shinmei like the stars, fire, and light."

"I still find it strange that Shinmei doesn't completely condemn philosophy from other religions, but I guess that it's still okay to do yoga as long as it doesn't conflict with the teachings of Iesu," shrugged Rizu.

"That reminds me, I need to get going to my yoga class!" exclaimed Geiburieru as he handed over Rizu the gold compact disc from his computer and shooed the trio out of his office. "I think we better finish this conversation tomorrow."

"But Geiburieru, what is this for?" asked Rizu, holding up the mysterious device in her hand.

"That will allow you to access all the information you need to know about any Guardian as long as you have Internet access at a computer," replied Geiburieru. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to do my meditation!"

Watching the archangel hurry down the hall, the three girls exchanged glances and then turned their attention to the compact disc in Rizu's hand. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, you guys?" asked Rizu.

Popping the disc into her laptop, Rizu booted up the program with Beronika and Megu stooping over her like vultures looking out for prey. "Do you two mind?" she chastened as she shot a look at them.

"Sorry, but I'd like to know what to do in case of an emergency," replied Beronika defensively.

"Same here," piped up Megu.

"Fine," groaned Rizu, double clicking on a cross-like icon that appeared on her screen with Hebrew text beneath it.

"At least that's one way to keep many people from accessing it," commented Beronika as she looked closely at the icon on Rizu's desktop. "I wonder how many students would think of it as a virus."

"Or possibly a broken search engine," added Megu. "All I want to know is how on Shinmei's green planet can this program keep our enemies out from getting a hold of our information! How would it know the difference between them and us? It's just a disc!"

Suddenly, a pop-up window with the image of Geiburieru appeared on the computer screen. "Greetings, Rizu," began the pixilated form of their mentor. "I see you have successfully accessed this program on your computer, but I must ask you to do this in the privacy of your home when using this query. What you're about to find here contains confidential information about your allies, your enemies, and even yourself.

"And how do I know you're Rizu and not some imposter? Because the compact disc you received from me has a sensor that reacts to your body heat and your fingerprints. It can also sense the energy you give off, which includes your feelings and your thoughts. Therefore, should this disc fall into the wrong hands will the program automatically go into a meltdown for security purposes. Unfortunately, this action can't be undone, even if you do successfully retrieve the disc from your enemies."

"I guess that answers your question," said Rizu to Megu.

"How did he know I was going to ask that?" asked Megu in amazement.

"Shinmei works in mysterious ways."

"So, what would you like to do, Rizu?" asked the computerized Geiburieru. "A tour of this program? A search of your recent allies or enemies? Or perhaps a radar glance of your ally or enemy's current location?"

"The radar sounds tempting," said Beronika.

"Let's do it, then," said Rizu as she clicked on the link to the radar.

"Ah, the radar?" prompted Geiburieru as his image turned into a radar screen on the computer. "Then, so be it!"

"Look!" said Megu as she pointed at the blinking white dot at the lower right-hand corner of the radar that was moving further away from the center and nearly off the screen. "Is that Inochi?"

"It sure looks like it," said Beronika, taking notice of the immobile cluster of pink, purple, and red dots on the radar screen. "I wonder where he could be going."

"There's only one way to find out," said Rizu as she clicked on the magnifying glass icon to zoom in on the white dot's location. With each click of her laptop mouse, the dot began to take shape of a man walking down a path of buildings made out of green lines.

"It looks like he's heading toward the Village," she said.

"But whatever for?" asked Megu.

Rizu opened her mouth to answer, but the only noise that came from her body was the sound of her stomach growling loudly for food. "I guess because he's hungry?" she replied with a grimace.

"You know, a trip to Sukoti's actually sounds good to me," said Beronika. "I haven't had a good hamburger in a long time."

"I got paid Wednesday, so I've got enough for a meal," added Megu. "Maybe we'll catch him there!"

"Sukoti's it is," agreed Rizu.

After walking through the snowy sidestreets between the campus and the Village, the trio sat around a table in the middle of the brewhouse with blue café mugs of hot cocoa in their hands as they waited for their dinner to arrive. "If only Geiburieru had given us some handheld radars!" muttered Megu.

Her eyes roamed every inch of the room for someone who could be Inochi, and she would occasionally stretch out her neck for a better view. "So many good-looking guys, and not a single one of them is him!"

"Even if we _did_ have a handheld radar, we would still get these funny looks because of you!" said Beronika sharply as she yanked hard on the left sleeve of Megu's red sweatshirt jacket. "Will you stop it? You're making yourself noticeable!"

Noticing the blank expressions of the students around them, Megu nervously waved at them before she turned around to face her two friends. "Sorry?" she squeaked in embarrassment.

"Let's just drop the whole thing, okay?" suggested Rizu. "If we see him, we see him."

"Anything to keep Megu from looking like a giraffe or something!" said Beronika, casting a stern look at the girl to her right before she took a long sip from her mug.

As she shot a sheepish smile at her friends, Megu glanced at the main entrance of the brewhouse just in time to see Deibiddo walking into the restaurant and talking to the hostess at the door. "Hey, Rizu, isn't that Deibiddo?" she asked, pointing at the young man in question.

Rizu looked over her left shoulder to see Deibiddo following the hostess as they drew closer to her table, and she quietly waved at him. "Yeah, that's him," she answered with a blush on her cheeks.

"Great," muttered Beronika under her breath. "There goes my dinner!"

"Beronika!" hissed Megu through clenched teeth.

"Sorry!"

As he came around the table next to hers, Rizu cleared her throat and said shyly, "Hi, Deibiddo."

"Hey, Rizu," said Deibiddo. "Fancy seeing you here."

"I know. Grabbing a bite?"

"Yeah, but don't let me ruin your dinner with your two lady friends. I'll catch you back at the dorms."

"You're gonna eat alone?" asked Rizu. "You don't have to do that! We have a spare seat—"

She soon felt Beronika's left hand reach over and smack her upside the head. "Not tonight, Rizu!" said Beronika sharply. "Girls' night out, _remember?_"

Deibiddo narrowed his eyes at the dancer as he replied coldly, "Seeing how I'm not invited to join you because I'm a guy, I'm afraid so."

"Well, okay. Enjoy your dinner," said Rizu glumly.

She watched the hostess seat him at the small table toward the back of the room and let out a heavy sigh. Turning to her roommate as she rubbed the tender spot on the back of her head, she then asked, "Why did you have to do that? That hurts!"

"I had to get him away from the table somehow!" said Beronika defensively. "At least he's out of earshot so we can continue on with our discussion!"

"Well, before we do, can I ask you two something?"

"What is it?" asked Megu.

"What's your opinion on him?"

"Rizu!" groaned Beronika.

"I'm being serious here!"

"Well, since you're so damn persistent about Deibiddo, I say he's too good to be true!" huffed Beronika.

"I disagree," stated Megu coolly as she sipped on her cocoa. "I think he's a good guy."

"That's not what I'm talking about," said Rizu quietly. "I'm talking about him being Inochi. What you do think?"

"Oh," said Beronika softly. "Well, he _is_ a musician like Inochi, but that could just be a coincidence. I can't really tell you. I don't know the guy that well!"

"What about you, Megu?" asked Rizu. "What do you think?"

Taking another sip of her drink, Megu replied thoughtfully, "I'm not sure about this one either, Rizu. Beronika did bring up a good point. It _could_ very well be just a coincidence that both Deibiddo and Inochi are musicians."

Rizu sadly nodded her head before she looked across the room at Deibiddo, who was too interested with the menu in his hands. It was obvious to her that he was thinking about fish that night, for the waitress returned to his table moments later with a glass of wine and placed it on the flat coaster.

Drinking fine wine while eating fish was a habit he mentioned to Rizu beforehand. Deibiddo had quite an understanding about alcohol in general. Because he was raised in the church and because his family had quite a bit of money and fame, he grew up to be a social drinker at an early age, but his parents made sure he only drank in moderation.

As he quietly worked on his wine, he looked over at Rizu and her friends when he saw that their waitress had finally arrived with their dinner. He remained silent as he watched them eat their meal and hoped to hear bits and pieces of their conversation, but all he heard was small talk and positive comments about the food. _Smart girls,_ he thought with a wiry smile.

He would occasionally catch a glance from Rizu, and he had noticed that Megu was caught staring at him several times too. Beronika, on the other hand, avoided him altogether.

Fifteen minutes later, he watched the girls receive their credit cards and change from their waitress and gather their belongings that were lying on the floor next to their stools. His green eyes never left them as they slipped into their winter coats, but he fixed his curious gaze on Megu after she snuck a final glance at him with a small ghost of a smile on her lips. _She'll be back,_ he thought as he smiled politely back at her in return.

Walking out of Sukoti's behind her two friends, Megu paused at the doorway and said to them, "I'll catch up with you guys later. I just realized I might have left my cell phone back at the table."

"Well, we're just going back to our room," said Beronika. "Rizu and I still have some homework to do. You want to come and chill with us?"

"That would be great, but I'd have to run home and grab my books. And could we go to the library instead?"

"We could do that," said Rizu with a nod after she looked up at Beronika for an approval, "but isn't your car at the parking garage?"

"I'm well aware of where I parked my car, Rizu, but I'm a big girl! I'm just gonna be running a little late. I'll call you when I get back to campus, okay?"

"Sure thing," said Beronika as she began to escort Rizu back to their residence complex. Turning to her, she then asked, "Is it me or is there something going on with Megu?"

"What do you mean?" asked Rizu.

"I know she didn't leave her cell phone back there. She checked for it before we even stepped out of the restaurant."

Rizu pondered for a moment and then looked back at her Beronika with wide eyes. "You don't think she's gone to talk to Deibiddo, do you?" she asked frantically.

"The way she's been looking at him since the other night at the park, she might have."

"She's been what?"

"But she approves your involvement with the guy," grumbled Beronika. "There's no need to freak out. If anything, she might have gone back to have a private chat with him."

"But why?"

"Just so she knows of his true intentions. You don't want whatever you have with Deibiddo end the same way as it did with Jeison, do you?"

"No," replied Rizu sadly, slumping her shoulders in defeat. "I just you're right, B."

"If I know Megu, she wouldn't dare stepping in between you and Deibiddo unless it's for the best," assured Beronika.

_I know I would for your sake,_ she added to herself.

Back at Sukoti's, Megu walked to the far side of the brewhouse and took the empty seat across from Deibiddo at his table. She was just about to make herself known when he looked up at her with twinkling green eyes behind his glasses and said, "_Konbanwa,_ Iinaka. I was expecting you to return."

She felt her jaw dropped in surprise, and her purse landed onto the hard floor with a heavy thud at her feet. "How did you know my other name?" she asked.

"I think you know the answer," smirked Deibiddo as he took another drink of his wine.

Scooting her chair closer to the wooden edge, Megu leaned over the table and exclaimed under her breath, "You're him! You're Inochi!"

"The one and only," said Deibiddo with a smile.

He pulled out a _henshin_ pen of gold and white onyx from the inner pocket of his Oukan University overcoat for proof. "You're probably wondering why I have this pen when I can't fight with you and the others as a physical being," he added.

"Are you psychic?" asked Megu.

"Hardly," he scoffed, "but I can tell from how you came up to me that you've got a lot of questions that need answers."

"'A lot' is an understatement."

"But let me start off with one of my own: why did you come here tonight?" asked Deibiddo.

"We were tracking down Inochi, and we also decided to grab something to eat since Rizu can't think on an empty stomach," replied Megu sheepishly.

"Is Sukoti's her favorite place in the Village?"

"So far."

"It's mine too," confessed Deibiddo with a soft snort. "You guys just got lucky."

"I guess so," said Megu, shrugging her shoulders.

She then took a deep breath and said, "I can hardly believe Rizu's dating another Guardian!"

"We're not dating," said Deibiddo lowly into his wine glass.

"Then, why was it that I saw you two holding hands with each other—"

"I need you to do me a huge favor," pleaded Deibiddo with a dismissive wave of right hand to silence her blabbering.

"Please don't tell me you're gonna say that you're not in love with her and that you don't want me to mention any of this to her," grimaced Megu.

Deibiddo arched his right eyebrow and said coolly, "Then, I guess I have no need to waste some air space."

Megu sat back into her seat with a look of disgust etched across her face. "How could you?" she hissed. "How could do such a terrible thing to Rizu?"

"I don't mean to lead her on like this!" snapped Deibiddo. "I came to her to get her mind off of Shi, but I didn't expect her to grow an attachment for me!"

"What made you think she _wouldn't_ become attracted to you? She's a very lonely person!"

"I know that! I was just hoping that my gut was wrong and that she wouldn't take my offer of companionship in a romantic sense! But I was wrong—"

"The hell you were wrong! You _used_ Rizu!"

"And I am extremely sorry for that!" said Deibiddo. "She's not meant for me, and I'm not meant for her. She deserves someone so much better."

"You try telling her that," snorted Megu. "I swear, Deibiddo, when you break the news to her, she's gonna give up on her search for her prince."

"No, she won't," assured Deibiddo as he took a long sip of his wine. "There's a guy out there for her, but the time's not right."

"Is it going to be another Guardian like you and Jeison?"

"Perhaps, and perhaps not. I'm not someone who can tell you your future, you know? All I know is that the time's not right for her to be with her soul mate just as much as the time's not right for me to fight with you and the others."

"So, when will you know it's your time?"

"I'll just know," replied Deibiddo as he turned his gaze to the _henshin_ pen next to his right hand. "Inochi will come to me when Shinmei tells him to but not in battle. When the time comes, my Seed Crystal will then be activated and Inochi will no longer walk around as a spirit anymore."

"I see," said Megu lowly.

Her cell phone suddenly rang inside her purse, and she reached down to grab the strap and search for her mobile device. She looked up at Deibiddo with brown eyes of uncertainty when she saw Beronika's number on the outer screen. "They're probably wondering where I'm at," she told him.

"Take the phone call," he urged her.

Megu lifted up the cover and asked, "_Moshi moshi?_"

"Megu, where the hell are you?" demanded Beronika on the other line. "We need you right now!"

"Where are you?"

"Outside in the courtyard near the dorms! Shi's back, and he's not alone either!"

Megu looked at Deibiddo with eyes full of fear and quickly replied, "I'll be there in a minute."

Closing her cell phone and dropping it back into her purse, she hopped off of her stool and pushed it in underneath the tabletop. "It's Shi," she said with a sigh of frustration.

"So I heard," said Deibiddo. "Be careful."

"I'll try."

Just as she turned back on him, she heard him speak up from behind, "I don't want Rizu to know anything about this. She's not quite yet ready to hear the truth."

Looking over her left shoulder, Megu nodded in return. "I promise," she replied softly before she crossed the threshold of the front door and ran toward the campus.

"Watch out, Tamashii!" cried Medetai.

Tamashii quickly dodged an incoming vine from a weeping willow she-demon that Shi had sent out to destroy the Angelic Guardians. Rolling into the small patch of snow, she sighed in relief. "That was close!"

She quickly ate her words as another vine from the she-demon's left arm took hold of her right pink boot and wrapped itself around her ankle. "Oh no!" she whined, looking up at the she-demon in fear.

She felt her body being levitated from the ground and thrown against a bare tree, her back making contact with the wet bark. Yelping in pain, she fell onto the snowy ground in exhaustion.

"Tamashii! No!" screamed Medetai as she ran to help her leader.

"I don't think so, Guardian!" giggled the willow she-demon as vines from her right hand wrapped around Medetai's body and began to pull the purple _senshi_ toward her. She then snatched Tamashii with vines shooting from her left hand. "Two out of three isn't so bad!"

Ingraining her feet into the snow like roots digging into the moist earth, she started to gradually collect the divine power of the two captured Angelic Guardians. "Master Myoujou will be pleased with this indeed!" she cackled with delight over the sound of Tamashii and Medetai's screams.

"Flame Spike!"

Turning toward the direction of the strange cry, the willow she-demon screeched as a fireball ripped through her vine-like body and forced her to let go of her two captives. "No!" she wailed, burning quickly into a crisp of nothingness but green dust on the snow.

"Are you guys all right?" called Iinaka as she rushed over to help her friends onto their feet.

"Yeah, but what took you so long?" asked Medetai. "We thought you'd be closer to the dorms by now!"

"I got distracted?"

"Better late than never, I suppose," muttered Tamashii as she brushed herself off.

With her two friends now at her side, sheturned her attention to the person who was responsible behind the she-demon's attack. "You got something better up your sleeve, Shi?" she asked.

"I'd love to give you another challenge now that your little fiery friend has decided to join in on the fun," purred Shi. Twirling his scythe in his right hand, he added, "But I don't want to waste my tricks without a good fight."

"Don't waste your time them, Shi," ordered Kasushiusu as he appeared next to the Angel of Death with his sword gleaming in his right hand. "You deal with Tamashii while I'll handle the other two."

"This should be an easy defeat."

_Great,_ thought Tamashii as her brown eyes rested upon the shiny blade of Shi's scythe. _He's got a kickass weapon, and all I got is a bow with some arrows! Why can't I have something like a sword or even a chain whip to protect me?_

Shi took a step forward and quickly sprinted toward Tamashii, charging toward her with his scythe as he prepared to take a swing at her. She tactfully dodged his attack as she leaped high into the air and landed on her feet. "Damn it!" he cursed. "You weren't supposed to move!"

Looking over her left shoulder, she gave him a challenging smirk. "I wasn't?" she asked, knowing that he would come after her again.

"What's the point of playing this cat-and-mouse game when you and I both know that your only defense is your little archery set?"

_He's got a point right there,_ thought Tamashii.

Meanwhile, Medetai and Iinaka tried their best to fight Kasushiusu with combined attacks, but whenever a star or a fireball hit him, he only took minimal damage.

"Great!" grumbled Iinaka. "That was my best fireball ever!"

"Let's try it one more time!" said Medetai.

"That's what you've been saying for the last seven times! Do you honestly think this one will get him?"

"There's only one way to find out. You start this time."

"Okay! Flame Spike!"

"Shooting Star!"

Kasushiusu stood still until the fireball was less than a foot away from his body. He then quickly took his sword and sliced through it and the star with one clean sweep. "Is that the best you can do, Guardians?" he chuckled deeply.

"I don't like the looks of it," said Iinaka.

"Me either," squeaked Medetai in agreement.

In the middle of her fight with Shi, Tamashii was slowly becoming tired from avoiding his advances, and she soon found herself barely functional on her feet. Her timing was slower than when she had first started, and she assumed that it was from the loss of energy from her battle against the willow she-demon.

But her weariness was no match for Shi's incredible speed as he finally caught her by the waist and pinned her against the nearest tree with his body holding her still. Tamashii tried to struggle, but his weight on top of her was just too much for her to bear.

Raising his scythe high above him, Shi leaned down and whispered into her ear, "That's it, Tamashii. Close your eyes and just relax. This will be all over soon."

He quickly brought his arm down to slice off her head from her shoulders, but instead of hearing the sound of flesh being torn, he heard the blade of his scythe hit something hard…

… Like metal.

"What in Myoujou's name is going on?" snarled Shi.

Looking at his scythe, he noticed a shiny object of gold separating his weapon from his prey. "Inochi!" he screamed angrily as he realized he had struck the Angel of Life's lyre.

Inochi had appeared right underneath his evil companion's right arm with his lyre up against Tamashii's neck for protection. "Thought you could outsmart Shinmei, Shi?" he jested with a smirk.

Pulling away, Shi let out a deep growl as his black eyes began to glow red in his fury. "I almost had her until _you_ interfered!" he barked.

"Do you think Shinmei would forgive you for destroying a Chosen One like her?" asked Inochi as he pointed at Tamashii. "It's one thing to walk away from your King, but it's another when you have the blood of the innocent on your hands. Do you really want to go through life and live with that choice hanging over you after Myoujou's through with you?"

"Myoujou will forever have a place for me! Shinmei never had one to begin with!" argued Shi. "I was born out of the transgression of Adan and Ibu! I was the product of the damned!"

"And you think I wasn't?" argued Inochi. "Just because you have to deal with the dead doesn't mean you were put between Heaven and Hell out of spite or out of punishment! Most of what I have to deal with are people in hospitals who are hanging by a thread! I haven't resurrected anyone since Iesu and Razarusu, but that was by Shinmei's command! I feel your pain when you have to lead the dead to their eternal home, and I can't do anything to stop that!

"Shinmei put you in that realm for a reason, Shi, because he needed someone like you for the job. Myoujou is using you for his purpose now that I'm out of the equation! You're gonna end up being as useless as those souls that you lead to the Gates of Pandemonium once the game is over. Do you really want to serve your eternal life in Hell, Shi? Do you?"

Shi lowered his scythe to his side and hung his dark head in defeat, hiding the tears that were falling from his eyes. Ever since he decided to join Myoujou, he never had the need to cry, for his mind was clouded with evil thoughts and revenge against the Angelic Guardians, but he was now starting to realize that Inochi was right.

_The only reason why I gave myself to Myoujou was to fulfill a prophecy,_ he thought. _Now that Inochi's free from my body, I'm nothing more than a vessel to Myoujou's wicked plan. What have I done?_

"I… I can't do this anymore!" he choked out as he gripped the scythe in his hand tightly, almost cracking the long wooden handle in half.

"Is he going to be okay?" asked Tamashii.

"He'll be fine," replied Inochi as he began to strum his lyre.

At the top center of his favorite instrument, the heart-shaped diamond glowed brightly with each chord the he plucked. "He's finally realizing the mistake he's made," he added. "We can only hope for the best."

Shi slowly fell into a powerful trance as the soft melody enticed him and beckoned him to come closer to the lyre, but he stopped in his tracks as he felt Kasushiusu's hand covering his left shoulder. "Let me go," he said coldly.

"No!" hissed Kasushiusu. "They lie, Shi! Your heart belongs to Myoujou, not to Shinmei! Don't change your loyalties on me, boy! You hear me? Don't you dare betray my master!"

_"Shi, please believe us_,_"_ begged Inochi silently_. "Will you trust our word and come back to Shinmei?"_

"Yes," replied Shi monotonously.

No one exactly knew whom he was talking to, but Kasushiusu assumed that the answer was for him. Snatching Shi into his arms, he disappeared from the scene without any warning.

Inochi lowered his lyre to his side with a heavy sigh of relief escaping from his lips. "We did it," he said softly.

"What do you mean?" asked Tamashii. "He's gone, Inochi! We didn't save him!"

"No, we didn't _actually_ save him, but I know he just had a change of heart. I could feel it radiating from him before Kasushiusu took him away," he explained. "Myoujou's dark magic shouldn't affect him anymore. Shi's made his decision. All we need to do now is to break the spell the next time we meet."

"And just how are we going to do that?" asked Medetai as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm not sure," replied Inochi sadly. "This lyre of mine has no real healing powers, but there's something stronger out there that could do the trick. I just wish I knew what it could be."

Tamashii paled at the thought of using her Eternal Damnation attack on Shi and asked, "Does this mean we have to kill him?"

"What do you mean?" asked Iinaka.

"Besides Shi's scythe, my bow and arrow are the next powerful weapons we've got on this team," replied Tamashii. "What if it boils down to using them to save Shi? I have never used them to heal a victim before!"

"She's right," said Medetai as she turned her head toward Inochi with eyes full of concern. "She's always killed demons! She never had to save a demon-possessed victim until now."

"And your point?" asked Inochi.

"Is it worth the risk to use what she's got just to save Shi?"

"I'm not sure," murmured Inochi, "but it's a risk we need to take if there's no other option."

"What if she kills him?" asked Iinaka.

"She won't," replied Inochi coolly. "Shi is too strong to die by Tamashii's hand."

He looked up at the sky when he felt a soft breeze rushing through his transparent body. "I'm afraid my time is up for now," he said. "I must go."

"Thank you for your help again," said Tamashii.

"Not a problem. Just be prepared for the next time we meet. Kasushiusu is bound to have something up his sleeve, and I have a feeling Shi is going to be the bait."

As the wind began to pick up, Inochi's spirit slowly disappeared before the trio's eyes and ascended into the heavens above.

"Do you think we'll get Jeison back the next time we see him?" asked Rizu as the she stood outside of her residence complex with her two friends.

"I hope so," said Beronika. "I hate to admit it, but I kinda miss the doofus."

"And I thought you were the one who didn't like hitting on you," snickered Rizu.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't single then!"

"I think you like him after all."

Before she could muster up a denial, Beronika suddenly noticed Megu's oddly silent behavior. "You've been awfully quiet since we got back," she said. "You okay, Megu?"

Snapping out of her current train of thought, Megu nodded her head and replied, "Yeah, I'm just thinking about Jeison too, you know?"

"You sure? You don't look too convincing."

"I am. I just have a lot of other things on my mind," assured Megu with a small smile.

But even her smile could not hide the sadness in her brown eyes when she looked over at Rizu, who was too busy searching for her keys in her coat pocket, and let out a soft sigh of disappointment. _She's gonna be upset when she finds out about Deibiddo,_ she thought sadly as remnants of her conversation with the pianist ran through her mind.

"Are you still up for a trip to the library?" asked Beronika.

"No, you guys go ahead without me. I better get back home before it gets any later."

"Okay. Well, be careful out there. The roads are pretty slick."

"I will," said Megu quietly. "You two take care."

"Will do."

As she walked along the side of the building toward the parking garage, Megu spotted a familiar figure approaching her. It was Deibiddo with his hands buried in the wool pockets of his winter coat. "Megu," he greeted her with a curt nod.

"Hey," she said. "I take it you heard what happened."

"About Shi? Yeah. You almost had him."

"I know."

"Don't worry, Megu. You'll get him next time. I just know it."

"Yeah," murmured Megu as she scrapped the sole of her boots on the sidewalk.

With her arms crossed over her chest, she looked up at him with a frown and asked, "When do you think we should tell her?"

Deibiddo sighed as he looked at her and replied glumly, "_You're_ not going to tell her anything. When the time is right, I'll be the one to break the news to her."

"I wish there was something we could do, though," said Megu.

"Me too, but I can't go against Shinmei's orders," said Deibiddo. "We'll have to be patient and let Shinmei do his thing. Only time will tell, Megu. Only time will tell."


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Author's Choice Song:** Sorry. No song for this chapter. I'll make it up to you with the next one.

Chapter Seventeen

The Merger – Deibiddo's Secret is revealed!

The first full week of March rolled into Oukan with a vengeance as signs of spring began to show. Amidst the melting snow throughout the campus, tiny buds began to sprout on cherry blossom trees, and birds began to sing their spring songs as the temperature gradually rose past the freezing point. The days were still dreary, but the students were hopeful for summer's warm return in the months to come.

Despite of the wet weather and the threats of another possible snowstorm, Oukan University maintenance workers were too busy sprucing up the campus for the remainder of the spring semester. The fountains in the library courtyard and in the Oukan University Pillar Garden were being cleaned out and washed down. At the food court, chairs and tables were being set up on the outdoor patio as a way to encourage students to enjoy their meals and coffee under the sun. The school had also hired gardeners to lay down mulch in many locations where red and white roses were to be planted.

It was truly a rebirth in progress, and a certain Angelic Guardian was anticipating for spring's grand arrival. "Can't you just smell the roses?" sighed Megu with contentment as she took a whiff of fresh air while walking past the Kenji Oukan Building with Rizu and Beronika by her side. "Such a fantastic smell!"

"I've been waiting for spring to finally come," said Beronika. "Winter was never my season."

"I kinda want the snow to come back," muttered Rizu.

"Only you would say that, Rizu," teased Beronika. "I don't know about you or Megu, but I'm a little hungry right now."

"Well, it is lunch time," said Megu as she checked her wristwatch, "and I can eat with you guys before I have to leave for work."

"Sushi, anyone?" asked Rizu.

"Sounds good to me," replied Beronika.

"Count me in!" added Megu.

They stopped at the intersection of the scramble light and waited for the traffic to clear before they could cross the street and continue on their way to the food court. As they watched the passing cars, Megu glanced over at Rizu and noticed the solemn expression on her face. "Rizu, are you okay?" she asked.

"It seems so quiet," sighed Rizu.

"What does?"

"Everything."

Megu nodded her head after she realized what her leader was talking about. "You're right," she said. "It _does_ seem quiet."

"Perhaps too quiet," chimed in Beronika. "I wonder what Myoujou's planning this time."

Every lane of traffic came to a sudden stop when the stoplights turned red, and they quickly walked in front of the cars to get to the other side of campus. When they passed the School of Education, Rizu said as an afterthought, "Whatever he's got in mind, I'm not liking it one bit."

Although they rarely showed it on the outside, the three Angelic Guardians had sneaking suspicions about a plan that Myoujou could be plotting beneath their noses. For the past week, it had been too quiet for their liking—no Shi, no Kasushiusu, no demon, nothing.

Nothing but peace and quiet.

But peace and quiet did not come easy for everyone, especially for Deibiddo. Night after night, he would toss and turn in his bunk on the fourth floor of the neighboring hall as he forced himself to go to sleep. Dreams of a distant past began to plague his thoughts, and he feared that such past would come back to haunt him in time once Shinmei had activated his Seed Crystal.

_Standing in the crowd of an angry mob somewhere in the Middle East, a young man with dark brown hair and piercing green eyes behind a white mask turned his sad gaze onto the bleeding man before him. The man was wearing a crown of sharp thorns on His head, and His face was covered in beads of sweat that mingled with tiny trails of blood. On each side of Him stood a group of men tying His hands onto planks of wood and hammering nails beneath His palms._

_The young man in white stood with tears in his eyes as he silently watched the man on the crucifix continued to be tortured. All around him, he could hear the crowd mocking the man and using His self-appointed title in vain. He also watched several people spit at Him from below His feet._

_He knew who the man was, and unlike those in the crowd, he had nothing personal against Him. The man in question was his High King—Iesu, Son of Shinmei. Iesu had come to earth to fulfill an ancient prophecy according to the prophets of the Old Testament, and the young man was sent from Heaven to watch it come to life. He remembered the decision that was made just moments before as he watched the citizens throw Iesu into the hands of death in exchange for the life an ordinary local prisoner who had committed a crime that was far greater than rebelling against the laws of the Temple._

_Iesu screamed in agony from the pain of nails ripping through the heels of His hands and the sharp jabbing of the spear at His side, and all the young man could do was to stand and watch his King die before him. "No!" he croaked, "No, this can't be happening! They have no right to do this!"_

_"It must be done," said another voice._

_Turning his head around, he spotted another heavenly being standing next to him dressed in black, although the attire was strangely similar to his. The tall stranger, who had shaggy dark hair and blue-hazel eyes, stood emotionless and cold. "It has been foretold by the prophets. There's nothing you can do for now," he added._

_Turning his green eyes back to the man on the crucifix, the white figure felt pity washing over him as he heard the man cry out hoarsely, _"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"

_As if the words were his cue, the stranger deserted his comrade and walked to the front of the mob like a shadow in the darkness. No one complained about his intrusion, for they were too busy focusing their attention on the suffering man on the crucifix, but when the young man in white began to follow after him, they closed in on his path and pushed him further away until he was back in the center of the crowd._

_The stranger stood at the bottom of the cross with a ghost of a smirk as he looked up at Iesu. Their eyes made contact, and the King trembled for a moment._

_Standing at His feet was the Angel of Death, and Shi was ready to take Him to the underworld. Iesu suddenly felt Shi's cold pale hands grab Him by the ankles, and with one final cry, His spirit immediately left His earthly body and walked alongside with the Grim Reaper himself._

_"Shi!" called out Inochi as he broke free from the citizens, who were now celebrating for the death of the so-called King, and ran up to his rival with a crossed look. "Why did you do that?" he demanded._

_"It had to be done," replied Shi coolly. "It's time for us to go."_

_"But what did He do to do deserve this death? He's not fit for Hell!"_

_"You're right. He's not, but all hope's not lost, old friend. Now, if you will please excuse us."_

_Blinking back tears of defeat, Inochi allowed Shi and Iesu's spirit to walk past him into the other realm where Myoujou would be waiting in delight. He let out a heavy sigh, and he began to follow their trail._

Sitting straight up in his bed, Deibiddo gasped for air as he forced himself to wake up from another recurring nightmare. He looked over to the loft on the other side of the room and noticed that his roommate was sound asleep like the dead. _That was too close,_ he thought.

Sighing heavily, he rubbed his sleepy eyes and lowered his head in deep contemplation. He was already mentally kicking himself for letting Megu in on his secret. Before he started speaking to her, he never had dreams of his past life nor major events that he was forced to partake in. Seeing Iesu die on the cross and watching Shi escort Him to Hell was a traumatic experience, but just as the prophets spoke, he helped Iesu rise from the dead that following Sunday morning and left the tomb open to prove that Iesu was no longer chained to death.

But it was not just the dream that was bothering him that night. His mind kept going back to Rizu, and he frowned at the very thought of her. He had begun to put some distance between them, using many excuses such as homework and stress, to get her away from him. While most of his lies were half-truths, he had to wean himself away from her before he continued to lead her on, and he was not ready to drop the bomb on her.

Now that the last battle with Shi had given Rizu a sense of hope and assurance, he could feel the heavy burden he bore being lifted off from his shoulders, but he still could not shake off the guilty conscience that was eating up his heart. Regardless of how he was going to approach the subject to her, he knew deep down that he was going to hurt her.

Looking at the alarm clock that was lying against the left bedpost behind him, which read 3:31 in large green numbers, he knew that he was not going to get enough sleep to last through his morning classes. "What am I going to do?" he sighed to himself as he laid his head back down onto his pillow.

Closing his eyes, he tried to fall asleep, but he then saw a glimpse of white light coming from the bottom of his mattress. He sat up and grumbled to himself about the brightness in the room, but when his eyes were fully dilated from the light's intensity, he could make out the form of a male Angelic Guardian standing on the floor. "Deibiddo," called Inochi's spirit, "Deibiddo, why are you sad?"

Deibiddo sighed and replied quietly, "I don't know if I want to talk about it right now. We're not alone, you know?"

Inochi smiled and looked up toward the direction of Deibiddo's roommate, who was still sleeping through their conversation. "Don't worry, Deibiddo. Your roommate isn't going to hear anything," he assured.

"You sure?"

"Positive. Now, tell me what's on your mind."

"I assumed you knew."

"Well, I know that you're feeling upset about Rizu," began Inochi knowingly.

"You have no idea," snorted Deibiddo.

"But you and I know that what she wants from you, or rather from us, can't happen. I'm sorry Shinmei put you in this awkward position, but you have to do what is right. And we both want to see Rizu happy."

"I know, but she's gonna think that she'll only be happy with me!"

"She'll get over it, Deibiddo," said Inochi softly. "It's not going to be easy, but we both know that it's for the best."

"Yeah."

"So, what else is troubling you besides Rizu?"

"Why am I having dreams from the past?" asked Deibiddo. "For the last few nights, I've been losing sleep over dreams of what I've done like witnessing Iesu's death. What do they mean?"

Sneaking a glance at Deibiddo's _henshin_ pen on his desk, Inochi smiled and said softly, "It is time."

"What do you mean?"

"Shinmei has activated my Seed Crystal inside your body. You are now receiving my memories. That's what those dreams mean! You're finally becoming one of us!"

Placing his right index finger in the center of Deibiddo's forehead, he murmured a spell that the young man could barely make out, but as he spoke the strange chant, a white kanji character began to glow brightly beneath his finger. Deibiddo then heard the translation coming from Inochi's mouth and fell into a deep trance:

"_A moment of rebirth,_

_A breath of life,_

_May the Lord of Heaven bless you_

_As you bring the harmony to the strife."_

When Inochi had finished the incantation, he instantly began to merge his spirit with Deibiddo's body through a fusion-like process until Deibiddo broke free from the spiritual connection. He looked down at his hands and examined them to see if there had any major differences during the conversion. "I can't believe it!" he gasped in awe.

From across the room, he heard his roommate rolled onto his side with squinted eyes and groaned, "What are you doing up at this time, man?"

"Sorry. I had a bad dream," said Deibiddo sheepishly. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Well, don't be so loud next time! It sounds like you were talking to yourself!"

_If only you knew,_ thought Deibiddo with a small smile as he settled back down into his bed for some rest.

Rizu laid on her bed with her hands behind her head the following afternoon as she contemplated about the current events going on through her life. For the umpteenth time in a row, Deibiddo had dismissed her company with another excuse concerning his midterms. Downtrodden by his rejection, she sulked to her room and hid herself from the world so no one could see the tears that were ready to fall from her eyes.

_It's not like he promised you anything,_ chided her inner voice. _You weren't in a real relationship with him to begin with! So, why are you acting like he's dumping you?_

"Yeah, why _am_ I even acting this way," she mumbled to herself as she reached up to wipe away her tears.

Beronika, on the other hand, was not oblivious to the change of her roommate's behavior, but it worried her greatly to see Rizu's relapse. She thought the depression had gone away when Rizu started to hang out with Deibiddo as a way to get over Jeison, but she was sorely mistaken when she bid Rizu farewell earlier in the noon hour and watched her trudge back into their room shortly after.

"Something's not right with her, Megu," she said to her redheaded companion while they were eating rice rolls in the food court for lunch. "I mean she was happy whenever Deibiddo was around her, but something wrong must have just happened. She goes away for like five minutes, and then she comes back and gets so upset! I don't know what's going on between those two!"

Megu bit her lower lip and sat in silence as she worked on her rice roll, avoiding Beronika's gaze. Immediately, Beronika knew something was up: Megu was hiding a key point or two behind Rizu's sudden relapse. "Megu, what's happening to Rizu that no one has bothered to tell me about?" she asked in a low voice.

Placing her lunch aside, Megu looked up and asked, "Remember when we went to Sukoti's a while ago, and Deibiddo was there?"

Beronika slowly nodded her head and suddenly realized why Megu went back into the restaurant in the first place. "You _did_ talk to that little bastard after all, didn't you?" she asked in an accusing tone of voice.

"Well, my curiosity got the best of me," sighed Megu with a shrug of her shoulders. "Rizu was right about her intuition: Deibiddo _is_ Inochi. There's no doubt about it because of his talent! He even told me so, and he also told me the reason why he's been with Rizu for the last few weeks."

"And?"

"And he feels bad for what he has to do," added Megu guiltily. "He's not the one for her, and he knows it."

Leaning back into her metal wicker chair, Beronika frowned as she pictured the disappointment on Rizu's face upon hearing the truth about Deibiddo's interest in her. "So, he's only with her just to keep her from being lonely, huh?" she asked.

"And we think that she's taking advantage of his friendship and wanting to tie herself to him," replied Megu.

"That's Rizu for you. So, who's gonna tell her the truth?"

"Deibiddo will," said Megu. "I'm not quite sure when, though."

"Well, he obviously hasn't said anything to her yet. If he has, then why would she keep looking for him?"

"I think he's going to tell her once we get Jeison back."

"_If_ we get him back," corrected Beronika. "I hope it's very soon. Spring vacation is only in two weeks!"

"We will, B," assured Megu. "Trust me."

"I hope you're right," said Beronika as she took a bite of her rice roll into her mouth. "I really want the old Rizu back, not the emotional one."

"I do too."

Walking back from her English Grammar class, Rizu shuffled her way through the slushy patch of snow that was everywhere on the sidewalk with her head hanging over her wet black dress shoes. All throughout her class, she tried to think of reasons why Deibiddo had suddenly pushed her to the side, but the more she pondered, the more she became upset. Was it a new girlfriend? Was it a secret he didn't want her to find out?

_Or did I get too close to him?_ she thought with a heavy sigh.

Just as she passed the school auditorium, she spotted Deibiddo walking on the other side of the street with his violin and clarinet cases in his hands and his messenger bag draped over his body. She silently hoped that she caught his eye as she watched him come closer toward her direction, but when passed her, he neither recognized her nor did he acknowledge her existence. He kept walking up the small incline in front of the music instruction building and straight to the nearest set of double doors at the main entrance.

Watching him with his back turned to her, Rizu frowned and clutched her school briefcase tightly in her hands. She allowed one tear to fall from her face and then another and another until she was no longer able to keep her emotions under control. She turned on her heels and ran blindly back to her dorm heartbroken and hurt.

But she did not notice the slightest hint of a frown on Deibiddo's face as he turned around just in time to watch her disappear from his line of vision.

Scared out of what was left of his eternal life, Kasushiusu slowly knelt down at the Dark Demon's feet with his head bowed. Myoujou had summoned him to his throne with a command that shook the last six rings of Hell and barely caused a few ripples in the Styx. Just by the intensity of his call, Kasushiusu knew that he was in serious trouble. "Y-y-you c-c-called for m-m-me, M-M-Master?" he stuttered.

"Oh, do please stop your trembling, Kasushiusu. It's rather unbecoming of you," groaned Myoujou tiredly.

"Y-y-yes, Master."

"And to answer your question, yes, I did indeed call for your attention," replied Myoujou, looking down at his cowering servant with glowering black eyes. "I noticed something rather different about Shi. Will you please care to explain the sudden change?"

"I honestly don't know, Master!" answered Kasushiusu. "Ever since we last fought against those stupid Angelic Guardians and Inochi, our secret weapon has put a stop to the purging of their holy magic! It's as if he resisting to work with us anymore!"

"What do you think caused him to go against our desires?"

"That lyre Inochi carries, Master! It's responsible for all this chaos!" insisted Kasushiusu. "Please, Master! Let me destroy it!"

"What's the point of destroying it now when it should have been destroyed a long time ago!" roared Myoujou as he banged his fists onto the arms of his icy throne, causing his servant to move quickly away from him and his growing fury. "Shi is getting close to slip through our fingers, and I'll be damned if you let him escape! I swear by my blood you will be stripped of that title I've given you, and I will personally have the other demons destroy you. Perhaps I'll even allow the Angelic Guardians themselves do me the grand favor!"

"Master, please!" begged Kasushiusu. "Anything but that!"

"That will be all," growled Myoujou.

"Master!"

"I _said_ that will be all! Go, Kasushiusu! Get away from my sight!"

Rising to his feet, Kasushiusu bowed slightly and disappeared from the room in fear to think of a scheme to keep the Angelic Guardians from taking away his favorite toy.

Later that night, Rizu walked into the social lounge after a cold and lonely trek to the food court. She heard someone at the black piano on the other side of the room, and just as she had assumed, she found Deibiddo playing a piece that he had recently written for one of his music classes. _Better not disturb him,_ she thought.

She quickly headed toward the double doors to her hall while avoiding Deibiddo's gaze out of the corner of his green eyes. He shook his head when she was out of sight and returned to his practicing.

When she arrived on the third floor, Rizu opened the door to her room and found Beronika sitting at her side of the makeshift desk and Megu stretched out on top of Beronika's bunk. "What are you doing here?" asked Rizu as she looked up at Megu.

"Beronika called me over to do some studying," replied Megu casually, slightly lifting up her psychology book for proof.

"I think there's something else going on besides a study session," said Rizu as she closed the door behind her and took off her coat and scarf. "Seriously, you guys, what's going on?" she asked with her hands on her hips.

Before Megu could reply, Beronika clicked on the mouse to her computer and gasped as she viewed the radar on her screen. "Guys, we need to jet!" she said, reaching for her yellow winter coat that was hanging off of her chair.

"What is it?" as Megu.

"It's Jeison. He's over at the Pillar Garden causing trouble!"

"Well, we certainly can't waste any time!" said Megu as she climbed down the wooden steps. "But it's a long walk from here to there!"

"You got a car?" asked Beronika with an arched eyebrow.

"Yeah! It's in the back!"

"Then, let's go!" said Beronika as she opened the door and started walking down the hallway at a fast pace.

"Wait! I have to unlock it!" called Megu from behind.

Rizu whined as she slipped into her winter coat and locked the door. "Just when I get home, I have to leave again!" she muttered the moment she heard the deadbolt lock in place.

Dropping her keychain into her front right pocket, she followed her two friends until she turned the corner past the communal washroom and drinking fountain. A pair of hands suddenly reached for her left arm and dragged her into the custodian's room that had been accidentally left open. "What the fuck?" she cursed.

Looking up at the person who kidnapped her, Rizu found herself staring at Deibiddo's face. "Is this some kind of a sick joke?" she asked angrily, pulling her arm out of his grip. "I never thought you were the kind of man who would make out with a girl in the custodian's closet after standing her up!"

"Rizu, will you just please listen to me? I have something to tell you!" said Deibiddo harshly. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything to Megu about it."

"What? That you're seeing another girl behind my back?" retorted Rizu.

"I don't know how the hell you came up with that conclusion, but it's way off!" said Deibiddo as he pulled out his _henshin_ pen from his wool coat pocket.

Rizu looked at the shiny object and then returned her gaze to Deibiddo in surprise. "You're Inochi?" she asked.

"Yes, I am," he replied.

"But how?"

"My Seed Crystal was activated last night," explained Deibiddo. "Shinmei knew it was time for me to fight with you."

"Why now?"

"Because I'm gonna help you and the others save Shi. He's coming home tonight for sure."

"Why didn't tell me?" said Rizu. "Did you think I would not understand?"

"I knew you'd understand, but I also knew you needed someone other than Beronika and Megu to turn to," answered Deibiddo. "You see, Rizu, Jeison and I met the night Jeison's Seed Crystal was activated long before you came back from vacation, but because I couldn't transform into Inochi for obvious reasons, I couldn't fight. That still didn't leave me out of the loop when Shi joined forces with Myoujou. I was aware of it, and that's the reason why I was allowed to enter your life. I was sent here to help you get over your depression."

"Why did you have to wait so long, though?"

"Because Shi would have overpowered me if Inochi was truly alive and using my flesh. I nearly died at childbirth because my lungs weren't fully developed, but even after all the treatments and surgeries, I was still not as strong as the average man. So, I forced myself to become stronger and faster to accommodate Inochi's skills. As a wandering spirit, he had great strength and dexterity, and we couldn't afford to lose all that."

"So, just how did you get stronger?" asked Rizu.

With his lips curling into a smile, Deibiddo replied, "You'll see."

"Well, since you seem to be willing to fight with us, we need to get going," said Rizu, flashing him a small smile in return. "Megu's waiting for us in her car."

"Let's do it!" nodded Deibiddo as he followed her down the staircase and outside to the rear parking lot where Megu and Beronika were waiting impatiently on them. "Well, it's about time you two got here!" snapped Megu.

"Sorry," apologized Rizu as she strapped the safety belt over her body in her seat behind Beronika. Jerking her thumb at Deibiddo, she added, "Blame it on him."

"He told you?" asked Beronika, bracing herself as she felt Megu recklessly back out of her parking spot and accelerate quickly to the exit of the small drive.

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be in this car, now would I?" countered Deibiddo.

"I don't care if he just told Rizu the truth! Right now, we got a Guardian to catch before we're gone next week, and I want Jeison back!" said Megu as she quickly pulled out in front of another university student and sped through the alley that connected with the main road in the Village. She barely noticed the four-way stop sign, and she pushed hard against the brake pedal when she saw the car to her left stopping at the intersection.

Her three passengers felt a powerful whiplash and groaned in unison, "Megu!"

"Sorry!" she squeaked.

Parking her car in the empty lot next to the Student Center, Megu followed her three friends to the Pillar Garden across the street. The Pillar Garden was a memorial site in honor of the five Oukan brothers who helped rebuild the city and established the university at the turn of the twentieth century. It was a long stretch of grass surrounded by two sidewalks on each side and tall bushes for privacy. At the end of the lawn to the north was a beautiful monument with five pillars surrounding an angel fountain made out of gold. Each pillar was dedicated to one of the brothers with his name engraved in the center—'Kyou Oukan, Kenji Oukan, Shia Oukan, Mika Oukan, and Samu Oukan.

With their _henshin_ pens in their pockets itching to be used at any moment, they took hold of their respective magical object as they drew closer to the Pillar Garden. They stopped in their tracks when they caught a glimpse of Shi standing alone in front of the five pillars. "Be careful, you guys," warned Deibiddo. "It's a trap."

"How do you know?" asked Rizu.

"Take a closer look at the garden."

Following Deibiddo's instructions, Rizu quickly understood what he meant. Whether or not it was Shi's doing, the quartet was sucked into an illusion with the help of Myoujou's dark magic. The lawn shifted further away from them, and Shi was standing in the distance without moving a muscle.

Rizu could not believe her eyes. What seemed to be a short walk to the pillars was now a long trek to her destination. "How did he do that?"

"That wasn't, Shi," replied Deibiddo. "That was someone greater than him."

"Either way, I'm ready to take him on!" said Beronika as she pulled out her _henshin_ pen.

"Me too!" said Megu.

Sneaking a quick glance at Deibiddo, Rizu cleared her throat and said with a flushed face, "You might want to turn around or something for a few seconds."

"Rizu, I've seen enough of naked girls over the years, and I don't get bothered by them as much as I used to," he answered. "Besides, I'm sure I'm not the first guy you've seen without at least a shirt on."

Feeling embarrassed, Rizu faked a cough and said hastily, "Let's forget I even brought the topic up."

With her _henshin_ pen in her hand, she took a step forward and said with confidence, "All right, you guys! Let's do it! _Tamashii!_"

"_Medetai!_"

"_Iinaka!_"

"_Inochi!_"

Like stars in the summer sky over Tokyo, four bright lights of pink, purple, red, and white flashed before Shi, who remained stoic throughout their transformation. He neither moved a lip muscle nor did he blink an eye as he watched the four university students become their angelic counterparts.

Taking a few steps forward after a successful transformation, Tamashii called out to him, "We're here, Shi! Come on and fight us!"

But Shi made no attempt to make a move, nor did he reply to her challenge. He stood like a statue in silence and left the Angelic Guardians wondering about his strange impassiveness. "Something's not right about this," murmured Tamashii as she slowly retreated next to Inochi. "He should be moving. What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," replied Inochi.

Suddenly, a black iron crucifix appeared behind Shi, and chains took hold of his wrists as they pulled him against the metal cross. Each link dug into his gloves like knives tearing the soft flesh of a young child, but he made no sound of pain or protest.

He just remained eerily silent.

"Okay, now this is very strange!" said Iinaka, feeling a cold shiver running down the spine of her back.

"That has got to hurt!" grimaced Medetai as she watched the chains dig deeper into Shi.

"Oh, how right you are, Medetai," purred Kasushiusu in the darkness.

The blue demonic commander appeared at the far end next to Shi with an evil smirk on his chiseled face. "How nice of you Angelic Guardians to show up," he drawled. "Did you come here to save your friend?"

"Don't make us hurt you, Kasushiusu!" growled Tamashii. "Just hand him over, and we'll be on our way!"

"I'd love to do, but I spent a long time putting my toys together," he sighed wearily with a fake pout on his lips. "And I was going to share them with you too!"

With a crisp snap of his fingers, over a hundred green walls slithered up from the ground between the two parties and became three-dimensional as grass covered every surface and buds of cherry blossoms sprouted into full bloom. The tall bushes that surrounded the Pillar Garden grew bigger in size and enclosed the area so no other mortal could enter Kasushiusu's creation.

The Pillar Garden looked nothing more than a green labyrinth, and from somewhere deep in the maze, Tamashii heard the high-pitched sound of a bull crying angrily. She swallowed hard and turned to Inochi with a worried expression. "This _is_ a labyrinth, right?" she asked unevenly.

"Correct," answered Inochi.

"And labyrinths come with Minotaurs, don't they?"

"Most of them do unless you are a certain Goblin King."

"Well, if there is one thing I learned about Minotaurs in my Greek mythology class, it's the fact that they love the taste of young adults," said Tamashii as she began to tremble violently.

Just the thought alone of going into a Minotaur-infested labyrinth on school grounds, along with an evil Shi waiting of them at end of the maze, gave her a severe case of the heebie-jeebies. _I'm gonna die,_ she told herself with a loud gulp.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Author's Song****Choice:** I thought about 2 songs for this chapter... Well, it's actually Chapter 19. XD Anyway, I'm picking "El Distorto De Melodica" by Everclear for this one. One of those songs that out to be on a good action/fantasy soundtrack, you know? It's just that amazing for an instrumental! I love it!

Chapter Eighteen

The Prodigal Guardian – Kasushiusu's biggest loss!

The labyrinth was very inviting as its beauty enticed the eyes of the four Angelic Guardians, but the thought of a thirsty man with the face of a bull and a craving for young blood running loose in the maze was much more frightening. Minotaurs were supposed to be part of ancient mythological creatures, but on the other hand, no one had ever imagined a former Roman senator back from the dead either.

Taking a few steps toward the entrance, Tamashii looked at what used to be the Pillar Garden. Instead of a clear view of the memorial, squared obstacles blocked her destination, and she shuddered at the sound of the monster that was waiting for her and her friends to enter.

"We're gonna have to do this eventually," she heard Iinaka say sadly. "I don't want to go in there just as much as you do, Tamashii, but we have to do this if we want to save Shi. There's no other way."

_Shi,_ thought Tamashii as she imagined him being chained to the black iron cross without trying to break free from his prison.

Her head snapped at attention the moment she heard Inochi's white boots clicking on the pavement as he started to walk into the labyrinth. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm going in," he replied with a serious tone in his voice. "If this is how Kasushiusu wants to play, so be it."

Exchanging glances, the remaining Angelic Guardians nodded their heads in agreement and carefully followed the Inochi through the first three rows. Everything was too calm to be true at first until Iinaka noticed something odd about her surroundings. "I thought labyrinths were supposed to be full of booby traps and secret passages," she said.

Just as she took a step forward, her right foot hit a sensitive spot in the cement and accidentally triggered a trap like a fiery geyser in front of Inochi. "Shinmei, Iinaka! Don't scare me like that again!" he barked.

"Sorry," mumbled Iinaka. "I didn't mean to do that."

"This is just great!" muttered Tamashii. "First, a Minotaur, and now fire booby traps! What's next? Being attacked by arrows or something?"

As she continued to follow her friends, Medetai stepped on another soft spot in the ground and revealed a leafy statue of the Greek goddess Athena from a nearby wall behind her. The statue was coated in bronze, and in its hands was a mechanical bow with a sharp arrow loaded and ready to shoot. The first arrow narrowly missed Iinaka's head, causing her to instinctively leap back. "What was that?" she shrieked.

The other three Angelic Guardians quickly turned around, and they noticed something peculiar about the bow. The notch was designed like a pistol to shoot not just one but multiple arrows at a time. Another arrow was automatically fired, and the quartet ran through the maze to dodge the statue's assault.

"Split up, you guys!" ordered Inochi. "The arrows can't follow us!"

"Right!" agreed the others.

They took off in four different directions when they crossed the middle of the labyrinth. Each Guardian took his or her own path, but all of them knew that only one would eventually lead them straight to Shi.

Slowly walking around the middle path that she chose, Tamashii looked for her friends to see if they were okay, but she came to a brief stop when she heard a familiar growl ahead.

She had picked the path with the Minotaur.

"Oh, shit!" she cried as the creature turned around the corner and spotted her. Even though she was wearing pink, the monster was still seeing red when its animalistic eyes briefly looked at her as it began to scrape its feet against the ground.

Tamashii could only do one thing at that moment—to run away as fast as she could.

She quickly turned on her heels and retreated back toward the entrance of the labyrinth, but when she looked over her right shoulder, the Minotaur was right on her tail as it ran on its two manly legs like a mad bull in a Spanish bullfight.

When she came across the center, she was too busy to think of which path took her to the start of the maze, and she made a sharp left turn, hoping that she was right. She stumbled into a dead end instead and realized that she was trapped. Pivoting around, she saw the Minotaur charging toward her without any intention to stop.

"Help!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Tamashii?" asked Medetai just as she was drawing close to exit of the labyrinth. Looking behind her and then turning her head to what was before her, she clenched her fists in a fit of frustration. She wanted to finish Kasushiusu's sick game as quickly as possible, but she also knew she could not leave Tamashii behind either.

She followed Tamashii's screams and ran past the center of the labyrinth. Simultaneously, she saw Iinaka dashing out of the shadows to help. "Oh, please don't tell me the Minotaur got her!" begged Iinaka.

"I'm afraid so!" replied Medetai.

"But where's Inochi?"

Taking several steps back until her spine was pressed up against the wall behind her, Tamashii knew that this was the end of the line for her as the Minotaur came roaring toward her with the sharp tips of its horns pointing right at her. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable assaulting to begin.

Suddenly, she heard the Minotaur yelp in pain, and she slowly opened one eye to see a flash of white pulling hard on the bull's horns. "Inochi?" she asked in amazement as she watched Inochi single-handedly fight the Minotaur.

He placed himself in front of the monster, and using all the strength he had in his lanky body, he threw the Minotaur over his shoulder and onto its back. It cried out in pain as it landed hard onto the ground and struggled to get back up onto its feet, but it was not quick enough to stop the two Angelic Guardians from escaping its sight.

"How did you do that?" asked Tamashii as she ran alongside with Inochi.

"I took some karate classes over the years," he replied coolly. "Since I couldn't do weights and I needed to learn how to protect myself when I got to university, karate seemed to be the answer at the time."

"You know kung fu?"

"I learned it when I was a freshman, and now I'm working my way up to being a green belt. I would have gone for black belt except music is my main priority here."

"You'll have to teach me sometime," said Tamashii.

"Perhaps, but if you want that to happen, we have to get out of this place," said Inochi as he began to pick up his pace.

When they had finally entered the center of the labyrinth, they heard the bull's cry of outrage from behind. "Looks like he's up again," remarked Inochi.

"But which way?" asked Tamashii.

"Tamashii? Inochi?" called Medetai from the entrance. "Where are you guys?"

"You passed us!" hollered back Inochi. "We're in the center!"

"We're on our way!" said Iinaka.

Tamashii looked at Inochi and asked, "Where should we go now?"

"This way," he said as he took her by the hand and led her to the end of the labyrinth.

Just as they picked up their feet to move, an arrow flew darted past Tamashii's right ear. "Shit!" she cursed.

She looked over her right shoulder and saw the statue in the distance with another arrow pointed at her.

Hitting the ground, the duo avoided the shot and silently prayed that they were safe lying on their stomachs while dodging the deadly arrows. Inochi looked up at the statue, and he noticed that it was unable to move its position. _As long as we stay like this, we shouldn't have a problem getting away,_ he thought.

He heard the sound of angry hooves clattering against the cement in the distance, and with a devious smirk on his lips, he looked over at Tamashii and asked, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"No. Did you come up with something?"

Inochi nodded his head as he looked at the statue one last time. "I think I know how to beat the Minotaur at its own game," he replied.

"What makes you say that?" snorted Tamashii.

"Bulls are pretty gullible creatures when they're angry."

With its incredible sense of smell, the Minotaur was able to follow the exact path of the two Guardians. It came to a brief stop when its bull ears picked up an unusual sound. It was a whistle coming from Inochi as he called for the monster's attention. Taking a quick whiff of the air, the Minotaur's nostrils flared, and it dashed off to where the Angel of Life was expectantly waiting for him.

"Here _torro_, _torro_, _torro!_" crowed Inochi with the accent of a _matador_ as he dangled a small piece of pink fabric from Tamashii's skirt in front of the creature.

The Minotaur cried out angrily and began to charge after Inochi with its horns, but it failed to notice two things. First, Inochi was sly enough lead it around the corner, and with a running start, he slid to the ground gracefully after triggering a hidden booby trap.

Second, the Minotaur could not quickly register the sound of an arrow being fired in its animalistic mind, but the sight of the flying object grabbed its attention as the monster looked up to see the sharp tip coming straight toward the center of its human chest. It howled in pain like a bull being branded before going to the slaughterhouse, and with streaks of blood running down its front, the Minotaur fell to the cement in a rampage. Because it was inhumanely intelligent enough to pull the arrow out of its chest, it gradually lost the strength to move and closed its eyes with one final breath.

The Minotaur had been killed by Kasushiusu's very own trap.

Tamashii saw her golden opportunity to put an end to the statue and used her own arrow to destroy it before it could kill her or her friends. Taking aim at her target, she released the fine cord and watched the arrow come into contact with the statue. The statue immediately burst into flames and melted into nothing but a puddle of hot liquid. "At least I won't have to worry about having an arrow in the head," she sighed in relief.

"There you are!" said Medetai as she approached the duo with Iinaka catching up with her from behind. "We heard your scream! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Tamashii.

"The Minotaur came after you, didn't it?" asked Iinaka.

Tamashii nodded her head and added, "And if it wasn't for Inochi, I'd be dead right now."

"How did Inochi save you?" inquired Medetai.

"With brute strength," answered Inochi sheepishly.

Looking up and down at his figure, Medetai and Iinaka wore expressions of confusion and disbelief. How was it possible for a lanky, skinny man like Inochi to be strong enough to defeat the Minotaur alone? "You're kidding," said Iinaka.

"Don't judge a book by its cover," said Inochi coolly. "Things are not as quite as they seem when it comes to the grace of Shinmei."

"_Touché._"

"Well, what are we waiting for, you guys? We still have to save Shi!" said Tamashii.

"Right!" said the other three Guardians in agreement before they took off toward the end of the labyrinth.

Kasushiusu stood vigilantly next Shi as he waited patiently for the Angelic Guardians. He was not completely surprised to discover their narrow escape from the Minotaur's wrath, but he was not expecting them to be as smart as Theseus by using his traps against his creation.

"Clever little angels," he muttered as he heard their footsteps coming closer to the exit.

Turning to his prized possession, he gripped Shi's chin in a tight grasp and held his head high. "Do you hear that, Shi?" he asked icily as he watched the Angel of Death strain his ears. "That's the sound of your so-called friends coming to save you, but I'm willing to give you one last chance to redeem yourself for the sake of Myoujou.

"All you have to do is to destroy those damn Angelic Guardians. If you do this, Shi, I'll pretend that this predicament of yours never happened, that you ignored Inochi's magic tricks, and that you killed Shinmei's favorite angels. One chance, and that's it. It's Myoujou or _them!_"

Shi said nothing as his face contorted into a scowl, which left Kasushiusu no other choice but to pound a blast of dark energy into him stomach. He cried out in pain as the powerful blow pushed him further against the crucifix, and blood began to drip from his scarred wrists underneath the heavy chains.

Leaning down toward his left ear, Kasushiusu purred in a low voice, "This isn't good, Shi. You shouldn't have flinched from my attack. Only those who pledge themselves to me withstand the pain I give them. I hate to think of you as a traitor. You and I made such a good team, and we could still be if you let me help you."

Shi turned his head slowly to face Kasushiusu, and he looked at him with eyes flickering between black and blue-hazel, a sign of his mixed feelings toward his true loyalties. "You? Help me?" he grunted, noticing the anger that was rising within Kasushiusu. "Since when did you help me?"

"I kept my word and helped you free yourself from Inochi's control over your body, didn't I?" snarled Kasushiusu. "I helped you become the strongest Guardian there is out there, more powerful than Tamashii herself! I did all that for you, and this is how you thank me?"

His only reply was a spit in the face, and he felt his control snap in half. With a deep angry growl, he struck Shi's left cheek and caused him to droop wearily to the side. "You shouldn't have done that, Guardian!" he sneered as he summoned his sword into his right hand. "You've just made your biggest mistake!"

Raising the sword toward his ear, Kasushiusu held his weapon tightly as he began to plunge the blade deep into Shi's heart, but the sword came to a sudden stop and barely touched its target. He looked over his left shoulder and growled, "Damn you, Tamashii!"

Standing behind him were Tamashii and her three companions. She pointed her arrow at him with shaky hands while the remaining Angelic Guardians stood defensively and waited for him to make the first move. "Don't you have anything better to do than using me for target practice?" he asked sullenly.

"I only use you when you're messing with my friends!" hissed Tamashii. "Now I'm gonna say this once and only once: let him go, Kasushiusu!"

With a wave of his left hand, Kasushiusu magically vanished Shi's confinement without murmur. The black _senshi_ fell on his hands and knees and lowered his head in shame.

"Shi!" cried out Tamashii as she began to rush toward him, but she was stopped by Inochi's arm in front of her.

"It's a trap," he told her firmly. "Kasushiusu is using Shi as bait."

"I would _never_ use my favorite Guardian as bait!" snorted Kasushiusu with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Favorite Guardian?" scoffed Iinaka. "You were about to kill him when we got here, you big meanie!"

"Big meanie?" asked Kasushiusu coldly as he felt his right eye being to twitch. "I'll show you who's a big meanie!"

Shooting one massive blow of energy from his right palm, he sent Iinaka into a thick wall of blunt needles and delightfully watched her slide helplessly to the ground from the assault.

"Iinaka!" cried out Tamashii.

"Are you okay?" asked Medetai as she knelt down her fallen teammate.

"Yeah," groaned Iinaka with a nod. "I'm just gonna be a little sore in the morning."

"I have no time to play your silly game, Guardians," said Kasushiusu. "I know you're here for your precious friend, but I'm not one who gives up that easily. You might have defeated my Minotaur, but you will never defeat _my_ Shi!"

At the snap of Kasushiusu's fingers, Tamashii and her friends watched in horror as vines began to wrap around Shi's limbs. His body went into spasms for every blast of dark energy that was shot into his body, and he howled in pain.

When the last of the shocks ended, the vines withered away and Shi quickly rose to his feet with a newfound energy that he had never felt before. His smooth skin had suddenly turned a horrendous pale color with lumps all over his body, and his eyes were blacker than when he first came to the Angelic Guardians as their enemy. His ears were also different—they had a point to them just like Kasushiusu's.

"Oh, Shinmei!" breathed Tamashii as her bow and arrow vanished from her hands. "That's not Shi! That's a demon who looks like Shi!"

"Ew!" grimaced Iinaka. "He looks horrible!"

"Yes," purred Kasushiusu. "You see, Guardians, Shi always had an inner demon living with him after the departure of Inochi, but it never had a chance to grow until tonight."

"You mean take control over him completely?" asked Inochi.

"Precisely. And like I said, I'd never use my favorite Guardian as bait, but I never said I would use him as my weapon to kill you!"

Turning his head to Shi, he ordered, "Go and have fun with your _friends!_"

Summoning his scythe into his hands, the possessed Shi took one long look at his targets. The quartet shuddered in fear when they made eye contact with him. His eyes were just as black as the evil creature that had consumed both his body and soul, and they secretly wondered how they were going to save him from himself if he was this evil.

He suddenly leaped high into the air and swung his scythe at them, but they quickly evaded his attack and surrounded him from every direction. "You think you can beat me?" he asked before he shot a powerful blast from his palms at Medetai and Iinaka, sending both girls into the bushes.

"Medetai! Iinaka!" cried Tamashii.

The two Angelic Guardians groaned in pain, and they quickly discovered that they could not move a muscle without hissing under their breaths. The blow was just too much for them to stand on their feet.

With anger boiling in his veins after watching two of his friends suffer from the sudden attack, Inochi quickly charged after Shi, but the Angel of Death was faster. He created a powerful wall of dark energy as a shield against Inochi. The white _senshi_ used all his strength to break through the barrier, but he was sent flying into the bushes as his lanky body ricocheted off of the shield.

"That was too simple," snorted Shi.

He shifted his dark gaze toward the last Angelic Guardian standing and watched her swallow her cry. Tamashii felt her body shiver as she locked her eyes on him and saw his evil intentions in those dark depths. "Please, Shi! Listen to us!" she begged. "We don't want to hurt you! We just want to help you!"

He ignored her plea and used all his weight to pin her down onto the ground. He took the handle of his blade and shoved it against her neck. "You just want to make me miserable!" he snarled, applying more weight onto his weapon to suffocate her. "You and Shinmei both!"

"Jeison, that's not true!" gasped Tamashii. "Shinmei loves you like he loves everyone else!"

"Liar!"

"Please, Jeison! You have been blessed with a loving family and some good friends!"

"My family means nothing to me! They're nothing but a bunch of blind, Shinmei-loving hypocrites! And what friends? I have no friends!" screamed Shi with tears running down his face from the corner of his eyes. "_I have no one!_"

"That's not true!" cried Tamashii. "You still have friends! You still have us!"

"No, I don't! I ruined everything! Look at me, Tamashii—I'm a monster! How can you forgive me after what I did to you all?"

Tenderly, Tamashii replied, "Because as your friend, I want to."

Kasushiusu took a step back as he sensed the almighty power of Shinmei surrounding Shi. "What is she doing?" he asked aloud, clenching his fists in rage. "What is she doing to him?"

Surprised by her gentleness, Shi loosened his grip on Tamashii and stood before her in confusion. _She still thinks I'm her friend,_ he thought. _After all this time, we're still friends?_

"Please, Jeison. I might not be the best Angelic Guardian in your eyes, but I was chosen for a reason," said Tamashii, pushing herself up as she continued to speak softly to him. "I'm forgiving you for what you've done, even before Myoujou took you under his control. Will you please come back to us and give me a chance to prove myself to you?"

Shi said nothing at first, but when Tamashii looked deeper into his eyes, she noticed that they were switching back and forth between black and blue-hazel. _What's happening to him? Is he trying to fight that demon alone?_ she wondered.

She was startled out of her thoughts as she felt two strong hands fall onto her shoulders. Shi held her in his tight grip and pulled her closer to him, their noses nearly touching each other. Still looking down at her with color-shifting eyes, he rasped out, "Help me."

"How?" asked Tamashii quietly.

Taking a deep breath, Shi replied, "Kill me."

Tamashii's eyes flew open in shock, and her mouth suddenly went dry. "You want me to what?" she asked in disbelief. "But why?"

"Because I want the thing that is living inside me dead!" snarled Shi as he tightened his grip. "Why can't you understand that, Tamashii? I might have wanted Inochi away from me for good, but this is worse! _This_ is eating my very soul!"

"But won't you be killed?"

"Not if you believe your arrow can save me."

"I can't believe it!" gasped Iinaka in the distance. "He's gonna sacrifice himself!"

"Tamashii!" cried Medetai as she watched her friend summon her weapons into her hands.

Looking down at her bow and arrow in uncertainty, Tamashii felt fear taking control over her body. Every demon that she had faced up to that particular moment was killed by her Eternal Damnation attack internally _and_ externally. _But what if Jeison is no different than the other demons?_ she thought sadly. _What if he dies because of me?_

Throwing them to the ground, she shut her eyes and said firmly, "I can't."

"You have to do it, Tamashii!" ordered Inochi as he slow rose to his feet. "It's the only way!"

"I can't afford to kill my friend!" she argued, clenching her fists at her sides. "I don't want to take the risk of losing him like this! It's too dangerous!"

"Please!" begged Shi as he fell to his knees before her. "Just save me from this pain!"

Tamashii looked at him with sad eyes and frowned. She had never seen him look so desperate about something other than her roommate, and it truly scared her. Maybe there was indeed a demon destroying the very soul of him, and maybe he was truly guilty for everything he had done.

Kasushiusu, on the other hand, had other plans for her as he began to feed upon her immediate fear. "You can't kill him!" he boasted. "You don't have the heart to kill your friend! Look at him! Look how pathetic he is sniveling at your feet! You know what will happen to him if you did shoot your little arrow, don't you?"

"Don't listen to him, Tamashii!" cried Iinaka. "He's tricking you into giving up!"

"Believe in the power of Shinmei!" said Medetai. "You have to!"

_Believe,_ thought Tamashii as she continued to stare at Shi. _That's right! You don't have to _kill_ him! You just have to believe that you can _save_ him!_

She turned her head sharply at Inochi and asked, "Are you ready?"

With his lyre in his hands, he nodded in reply. "Let's do it!"

"No!" cried Kasushiusu angrily, throwing dark energy balls at Shi from behind. "You can't win! You just can't win!"

His sounds of protest were washed out by the sweet melody coming from Inochi's lyre. Shi fell into a deep trance and was protected by the blessing of Shinmei as an energy shield surrounded him from Kasushiusu's assault. He approached the Angel of Life and slowly reached out to touch the diamond that was radiating with pure energy in the center of the lyre.

When Shi was close enough for his liking, Inochi looked at Tamashii and said, "Now, Tamashii!"

"Right!" said Tamashii as she picked up her bow and placed the matching arrow into its notch.

With the shiny golden tip pointing at her target, she closed her right eye and began to silently pray to Shinmei for his intervention. _I know_ _I can save him, Shinmei,_ she thought. _I believe it._

Just before she let go of the arrow, she cried out, "Eternal Damnation!"

No one exactly knew what would become of the person who was Jeison Ankokuno, nor did they exactly know of Shi's fate. When Tamashii loosened her grip on the arrow between her fingers, she felt as if time had either stopped or considerably slowed down, for the arrow seemed to take forever striking its intended target. All she could hear was the sound of Kasushiusu screaming angrily in the distance and the sound of flesh being sliced.

Shi fell to his knees, sobbing from the excruciating pain that Tamashii had inflicted onto him at his request. He cried out in agony as he felt a burst of holy power destroy his inner demon, and his head slowly drooped to the ground.

"Shi!" screamed Tamashii.

"Is he dead?" asked Iinaka.

Medetai bit her lower lip and silently prayed, _Please let him be alive!_

Bravely, Shi took hold of the golden shaft and ripped it out of his body. The arrow was free from bloodstains, and he placed his hand over the spot where he was pierced. When he pulled back his arm, he noticed that there was not a single drop of blood in his palm. "What the hell?" he asked aloud, looking up at Tamashii in confusion.

Tamashii felt her breath hitch in the back of her throat. No longer were his ears pointy, and no longer were there silver demonic charms on his uniform. His skin now had a healthy glow, and his eyes were shining like a pair of beautiful turquoise stones. "Jeison!" she cried as she ran up to him with a warm hug. "You're back!"

"She did it!" squealed Iinaka. "She saved him! She _actually_ saved him!"

"She's one lucky bitch!" said Medetai with a smirk.

Shi drew Tamashii closer to him and placed his chin on top of her head. "I'm sorry for everything," he said heavily. "I didn't mean for all this to happen. I just wanted—"

"I know," interrupted Tamashii. "It's over, Shi. The worst is now behind us. You're free."

"But what about the others?"

"Don't worry about them. They're just as happy as I am."

With the exception of Inochi, who stood close by with a smile gracing his face, Tamashii watched her friends run over and greet Shi with hugs of affection. Medetai was the first to break the awkward silence and playfully slapped him on his right arm. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" she admonished. "You had me worried!"

"Sorry!" apologized Shi sheepishly.

Iinaka glanced up at Medetai and asked quietly, "Since when did you start caring for him?"

Medetai felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment as she quickly replied, "Since he turned on us!"

Iinaka smirked and shook her head. _I should have known,_ she thought.

"Oh, spare me the lovey-dovey moment," groaned Kasushiusu, tightly pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's making me sick to my stomach!"

Shi loosened himself from his friends' arms and said, "Excuse me for a moment, you guys, but I believe I have some unfinished business to tend to."

Twirling his scythe between his fingers, he walked up to Kasushiusu and pointed the blade at him with a deadly look in his eyes. "Any last words, Kasushiusu?" he growled.

Kasushiusu shifted his gaze between the scythe and its owner, and he chuckled nervously as he replied, "No, none at all."

He then cast a threatening look at Tamashii and took hold of the edge of his purple cape. "You haven't seen the last of me yet, Guardians!" he said with a sneer. "I promise there will be hell to pay the next time we meet!"

"I'm counting on it," said Tamashii.

Kasushiusu snorted in disgust, and with a twirl of his heels, he disappeared the ninth ring of Hell.

Shi took a deep breath of relief and said, "Good riddance! I thought I would never get out of that mess!"

"You did it to yourself," reminded Inochi gently.

"I know," winced Shi, "and I apologize for it."

"Let bygones be bygones," said Iinaka. "We've got you back, and that's all that really matters now. Inochi is free, and the prophecy has been fulfilled thanks to you."

"Most of all, you're not dead," added Medetai.

"Yeah," said Shi unsurely. "So, you're not mad at me?"

"Nope," replied Tamashii. "The past is behind us, and there's no need to dig it back up. Just let it go, Shi."

Shi nodded his head, but he pursed his lips together and slowly turned to the other three Angelic Guardians with a serious look in his eyes. "If you guys don't mind, I'd like to talk to Tamashii alone," he said.

Medetai cast a worried glance at her roommate before she replied in resignation, "Yeah. Sure thing."

She led Iinaka and Inochi out of the Pillar Garden as it began to return to its original state. "Let's go," she said softly. "He wants to have 'the talk' with her."

When the trio had disappeared behind the bushes, Shi let out a heavy sigh and turned his complete attention to Tamashii. "Rizu—I mean Tamashii, I guess there's something I need to tell you before it gets out of hand again," he began. "I know you had a crush on me since the day we first met last year, and I was flattered. But there's something you should know."

"You don't feel the same way," finished Tamashii.

"Yeah," said Shi. "It's nothing personally against you, but you're just not my type."

"Because I'm not as pretty as Beronika?"

"That's not it!"

"Then, why? Why am I not your type?"

Shi hesitated for a moment and then answered, "Because I don't feel anything whenever I see you. To me, you're just a friend, and that's all you'll ever be to me. I can't force myself to love you. We're two completely different people! We don't fit right!"

"And, yet, you feel like you do with B?" scoffed Tamashii.

"B's personality attracts me. Yours is just too intense for my taste," said Shi. "I know what you're looking for in a relationship, but that's just something I'm not able to give to you. I'm sorry, Tamashii, but I can't love you like that. I can't lie to myself just to make you happy."

"But how would you know we're not perfect for each other if you refuse to try?"

"I know you have never had a boyfriend before, and girls like you tend to get too clingy. I just don't have the patience or the tolerance for that, but I know there's a guy out there who does. He'll love you for you who are, and he'll see through your faults and help you correct those that do bother him. He won't care about how many guys you've been with because he'll love you no matter what. That's the kind of person you should be with."

Tears of sadness began to fall from Tamashii's eyes, and she reached up to wipe them from underneath her pink mask with the back of her left hand. Blinded by the wetness in her pupils, she buried her face into his chest to muffle her cries as Shi reverted back into his mortal counterpart.

Jeison noticed that Tamashii had done the same when he lifted Rizu's chin with his fingers and said softly, "I'm sorry, Rizu, but we both know it couldn't work between us."

"Yeah," she sniffled. "I was afraid this day was going to come."

"I know."

Rizu reluctantly pulled herself out of his embraced and walked out of the Pillar Garden with her puffy eyes fixated on the sidewalk beneath her feet, crossing the intersection of the scramble light in silence. _This is just great,_ she thought as she passed the school auditorium. _Why did he have to tell me that? I was starting to get over him with Deibiddo! What else could go wrong tonight?_

As she walked down the incline in front of her residence complex, she saw Deibiddo sitting alone on a bench along the brick wall of the building. He turned his head to her with a frown on his lips and asked knowingly, "He told you, didn't he?"

"Yeah," grumbled Rizu. "I wasn't completely surprised, though."

"It had to be done."

"It could have waited after spring vacation."

"No, it couldn't have," argued Deibiddo softly.

Rizu sighed and shook her head. "What a great way to end a wonderful night," she retorted. "Just when you think all is well and back to normal, the world has to fall apart around you! How can anything get possibly worse?"

Running a hand through his dark hair, Deibiddo took a deep breath and said hesitantly, "Rizu, I have a confession to make."

She flinched at his words, and she started to feel as if she had jinxed herself with her rambling. "I'm afraid to even ask," she said.

"But it needs to be done. Otherwise, you won't understand."

"Does it have something to do with you ignoring me for the last week or two?"

"Yes."

"Then, I don't need to hear it!" said Rizu stiffly. "I'm already hurt as it is—"

"But I need to get this off my chest before we leave this weekend!" insisted Deibiddo. "Look, Rizu, I know tonight might not be the best night to tell you the truth, but I think it's wise for me to explain to you why I did what I had to do.

"I knew you had feelings for Jeison. Geiburieru told me the night I met Jeison what was going on between you two, and he warned me that those feelings would fall in my lap if I wasn't careful around you. I didn't listen to him because I had hoped for the benefit of the doubt. He was right, and I took advantage of that.

"I didn't mean to push you away from me, but you were starting to become too close. You're treating me like I was some kind of replacement for Jeison. I didn't want to be that, but I didn't want to hurt you either. So, I had to do what I had to do—I had to put distance between us because I didn't want to lead you on."

"Lead me on?" asked Rizu.

"I came to comfort you," said Deibiddo. "I didn't invite you into my life to ask for a relationship with you. I'm not the guy you need."

"But all those dinner dates—"

"I needed some kind of companionship! I was like you—I felt so alone because I didn't have many friends to confide in! And I admit I was starting to fall for you, but I knew a relationship with you couldn't work."

"Because I'm too intense?"

"How did you know that?" inquired Deibiddo.

"I got the same spiel from Jeison," replied Rizu sourly.

"He does have a point," said Deibiddo. "Rizu, I'm grateful to be your friend, but that's all I can be to you. I can't be somebody else without lying to myself. I don't want that, and I know you don't want that either."

"But why did you have to tell me now?" asked Rizu as she wiped away a loose tear from her right eye.

"Because I know you're gonna be dwelling on me when you get home to Roganu next week, and you'll only get depressed. I don't want that to ruin your vacation."

Catching a glimpse of the tears running down her face, he took her into his arms and let her cry into his right shoulder without any complaint. "I'm sorry for breaking your heart," he apologized softly into her ear.

_It's too late,_ she thought. _It's already broken._


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Authir's Choice Song:** As promised, I got two songs for this chapter! The first one is one of my favorite tunes from Radiohead, "No Surprises". It's probably the only song I can personally relate to when life royally fucks me over after something good comes along my way. I'm usually left feeling bummed out and disappointed, even though I half-expect shit to hit the fan from the get-go. However, I have been listening a lot of good covers of "No Surprises", so I'm not sure if I want to stick with Thom Yorke's style.

The second song is Everclear's "The Good Witch of the North". It my favorite song of all time, and I so want it to be played at my wedding. You could probably guess where this song fits in this chapter. I'll give you a hint: a certain someone makes another appearance in this book.

Chapter Nineteen

Rizu's Biggest Birthday Surprise – A Call from Who?

Kasushiusu tried to sneak away from Myoujou's watchful eye when he arrived in the ninth ring of Hell, but as he crept outside the entrance to Lake Cocytus, he stepped on a fiery geyser booby trap that he had planted for security purposes and flinched from the sudden surprise. The noise caught Myoujou's attention, and his voice bounced off of the icy walls as he hollered, "KASUSHIUSU!"

"Coming, Master," mumbled Kasushiusu.

He forced himself to approach the throne without showing an ounce of shame as he kept his head up and a look of false determination in his silver eyes. Kneeling before the Dark Demon, he knelt on his right knee and asked, "You wish to see me, Master?"

"Yes, Kasushiusu," said Myoujou tiredly. "It has been brought to my attention that Shi has escaped from us and joined forces with the Angelic Guardians. Is it true, Kasushiusu, that you let him go without putting up a fight?"

_You really did it this time,_ thought Kasushiusu as he cringed to himself.

Keeping his gaze on the icy terrain beneath him, he said nothing and silently waited for the inevitable punishment. _What's he planning to do now? Is he going to throw me into the seventh or eighth rings and be ripped apart, or is he going to chain me against the wall and force me to look at the Gorgons?_

"I wouldn't put you through all that torture just because Shi is no longer with us," chuckled Myoujou. "Come now, Kasushiusu! I knew from the beginning that you were going to screw up!"

"How did you know, Master?"

Snorting in disgust, Myoujou replied, "Look at you! All the demons you recruited to fight against the Angelic Guardians have been killed! You've trained them poorly!"

"And what about Shi?" hissed Kasushiusu angrily. "Are you going to say that I trained him badly too?"

Myoujou felt his lower lip curl in anger at the tone of defiance in Kasushiusu's voice, but he took a deep breath and forced himself to relax before he lost all self-control. "A good commander should pay attention to his enemy's strengths and weaknesses in, out, _and_ during battle!" he answered roughly. "You did nothing to stop the Angelic Guardians when they found the loophole in your plan, and you didn't bother to take back what was rightfully ours! You let them win!"

"I never expected those Angelic Guardians to be that powerful!" snapped Kasushiusu as he quickly rose to his feet.

"That's exactly where you failed to succeed. You _assumed_ that they would be an easy defeat! They are not weak, Kasushiusu! They are much stronger than what they appear to be!"

Muttering to himself, Kasushiusu clenched his fists at his sides and looked away from the Dark Demon with a sad gaze in his eyes. "Yes, I did," he replied sourly. "I'm sorry for disappointing you, Master."

"I would rather give the rest of your mission over to Deiraira," began Myoujou with a sigh, "but I am willing to give you one last chance to redeem yourself and your worthiness in my eyes."

Kasushiusu lifted his head as he felt his heart begin to flutter with hope. "How so?" he asked suspiciously.

"The end of the school year is coming fast, and I want you to devise a plan that will be executed _perfectly,_" purred Myoujou. "This will be a project I need you to get started on right away. Time is very short."

"But what about the Angelic Guardians?"

"I'll take care of them," replied Myoujou. "You just make sure there are no loopholes, or I will see to it that Tamashii's arrow will sentence you to your doom in the Abyss. Don't fail me."

"Yes, Master," affirmed Kasushiusu with a bow.

A week later after her last encounter with Kasushiusu, Rizu collapsed on her bed in her childhood bedroom in Roganu. March was halfway over with the start of a much-needed spring vacation, and she was already feeling bored without having her friends around to keep her company. Sherona decided not to set aside vacation time to supervise her oldest child, Roderikku was too busy at his job to request the week off, and Po-ra still had her classes at Roganu Junior & Senior High School.

Although she liked having the house to hereslf, her loneliness was starting to catch up with her. She longed to hear from the other four Angelic Guardians, but she sighed heavily as she dropped her cell phone next to her head. _They're not gonna call you. They all got plans,_ she thought. _Beronika is out doing some dance workshops; Megu is probably in Osaka by now with her sorority; Jeison's with his church group, and Deibiddo was planning to write some music at home._

She lifted her head and reached out to grab her favorite picture of her with Robu that was sitting on her bedside table. She slowly ran her right thumb over his image and felt her lips twitch upward into a small, sad smile. _Robu must be in school right now,_ she mused. _I haven't heard from him in a long time. I wish I knew how he was doing._

She spent most of her afternoons walking the streets of Roganu alone when the weather was nice, and she would pass by her old grade school on the way to the downtown shopping district. Occasionally, she would catch the older students eating their lunches beneath the clear skies, and she would smile to herself in amusement.

But something caught her eye as she stood on the other side of the cast-iron fence the following Friday afternoon. Sitting in the distance underneath a bare cherry blossom tree was a young girl eating her lunch alone without having anyone to talk to. She noticed that all the other children were too busy with their friends as they sat in their cliques chatting away about their plans for their upcoming spring vacation.

Rizu frowned and envisioned herself as a preteen again. She remembered how cold her classmates were to her growing up and how no one wanted to be friends with her because she was different. She could not play sports, she was very studious, and she had an overprotective, bossy mother who tried to tell the teachers how to do their jobs. She never knew how to make friends, but no one her age was willing to show her.

She longed to enter the gates and have a friendly conversation with the girl, but she knew better than most of her graduating class. Teachers of former students were not always kind whenever a graduate walked into the classroom unannounced during the school hours, and the administration was starting to crack down on such visits.

With a soft sigh escaping from her lips, she began to walk away from the school with her hands stuffed into the pockets of her black Oukan University hoodie.

She returned to her residence complex the following Sunday evening and checked her mailbox to see if she had received anything while she was away. She noticed that there was a small note from Micchi on the other side of the small peephole. _I wonder what I did this time,_ she thought as she toyed around with her combination locks and took the note into her hand.

_Rizu—_

_Beronika wanted me to let you know that she would not be able to come back right away from vacation. She's in Tokyo for the next few days due to a dance workshop, and she's not expecting to return until the weekend. She apologizes for not reaching you sooner._

_Micchi_

"Great," she muttered as she shut the little door and stuffed the note into her coat pocket. "She could have called me about it."

She walked into the social lounge on the other side of the fishbowl to see if Deibiddo was at his favorite piano, but when she heard nothing but silence from across the room, she began to worry. _I hope he didn't drink too much at his birthday bash yesterday,_ she thought sadly.

She looked down at the two gift bags in her hands. Deibiddo and Beronika had back-to-back birthdays in the middle of their vacation, and she had gone out of her way to buy them each a present. For Deibiddo, she picked out a collection of Ludwig van Beethoven's classical pieces on compact discs, and she bought a cute Happy Bunny plushie for Beronika. She had also baked two small cakes with their names on them, which were waiting upstairs in her room on the desk.

She slowly trudged up the staircase to the third floor and closed the door behind her when she entered her room. Placing the gift bags next to the cakes, she walked back to her bed and propped her head against her pillows. _Where did everybody go?_ she thought.

She picked up her phone that was lying on the bedside table, and she called Jeison and Megu to see if they wanted to come over and chill for a few hours. Neither of them answered her call, and when she heard Megu's outgoing message on the other line, she flipped down the cover and slammed the mobile device onto her bed. "This is so not fair!" she whined. "What's going on? Why is everyone doing this to me?"

She stayed in her room for the rest of the night in hopes that someone would stop by to welcome her back, but no one neither knocked on her door nor called her cell phone until Beronika returned from her trip that Friday. She found her roommate feeling down and moping about while working on her homework at their desk. Dropping her bags in the middle of the walkway, she cocked her head to the side and asked softly, "Rizu, are you okay?"

Rizu looked up at her and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm just bored," she replied nonchalantly.

"I take it you don't want to talk about your vacation," said Beronika as she walked over to her closet and hung up her winter coat and scarf along the inside wall.

"It's more than just vacation," confessed Rizu. "I mean, yeah, going home sucked, but when I got back, no one wanted to talk to me."

"What do you mean?"

"Deibiddo hasn't been around, and Megu and Jeison haven't called me back or anything."

"Now don't you go blaming yourself for that!" admonished Beronika. "I'm sure they were just busy! Your classes started back up Monday, and I have a lot of homework to do to make up for my absence!"

"I just find it weird that they ignored me while you were away at the same time!" snapped Rizu as she quickly rose to her feet and approached her roommate. "We're a team, B! We should not just hang out when we have to battle!"

"Rizu, I kinda understand Jeison's reasoning since you did have that massive crush on him," began Beronika hesitantly. "The same goes for Deibiddo."

"But what about Megu?" asked Rizu.

"I don't mean to offend you or anything, but she has a better relationship with me than she does with you."

"How come?"

"Well, part of it goes back to when you were chasing after Jeison, who does happen to be her cousin, and part of it is just how you present yourself to people," replied Beronika. "I know you're a sweet girl, but you're also painfully shy around others. Megu just doesn't know how to relate to you. You're not social, you're not outgoing, and you're not preppy. She's not sure what to do whenever you're involved in a situation with her."

"They still had no right to treat me like this!" said Rizu.

"You're right, but when you impose yourself on others after everything you've done to them, they are free to do whatever they want to do to you," said Beronika. "I'm sorry for being so blunt, but maybe it's time for you to start taking accountability for your actions and deal with the consequences. You kinda drove Jeison to Myoujou, you made Deibiddo promise Megu to not tell you his true feelings, and Megu and I have been hanging around behind your back because we can't tell you our opinions without making you cry. We all were only trying do what we felt was right."

"By what? Not being my friend?"

"We _are_ friends, Rizu, but we're not going to be the best of friends," sighed Beronika. "That's one of the reasons why I'm asking Raura to be my new roommate next year. With you, I got a lot of drama between Jeison and Deibiddo. I don't need that baggage thrown at me. Your emotions affect mine, and I am one who hates to be all moody because of one of my friends."

"Are you saying that I'm responsible for your moodiness?" snorted Rizu.

"You're responsible for yourself! Raura and I hit it off better than you and I did because I have more things in common with her! We're like two peas in a pod, and she's one of my closest friends I've got here! I'm sorry, Rizu, but I don't think I can stand your issues for another year as your roommate. I need to be out with my people, and those people are my dancers."

Rizu lowered her gaze to the floor and shuffled her feet in silence. Tucking a loose curl behind her right ear, she glanced up and asked quietly, "So, are you going to live here?"

"We're going to the suites next to the library," answered Beronika. "Raura is asking two other girls in our dance classes to live on the other side of our bathroom if they're still looking for a room. We're trying to have four dancers living in the same area, you know?"

"Makes sense," mumbled Rizu under her breath.

"Come on, Rizu! You're a good roommate, but I can see why your first one didn't want to live with you anymore. It's not you being anti-social. It's you being drama-prone. You can go around and blame it on your childhood and your family all you want, but as the Angelic Guardian of the Stars, I can tell you that it's your astrological personality that clashes with everything and everyone around you. You might not have even realized that the domino effect of your life was started by you. Look at what you did to Jeison and Deibiddo. You pushed them down with your desperate behavior. Who are you going to blame for that? Your mama?"

"Beronika, I'm sorry that happened!" groaned Rizu in exasperation. "I admit I'm a lonely person, but I've never been loved before. I just wanted to know—"

"If they were the one for you?"

"Yeah."

"Rizu," began Beronika softly as she took Rizu's hands into her hers, "I'm sure you've been told many times not to chase someone if you're looking for true love. That is actually the best advice my mama gave me when I was a teen. I fell head over heels for one of my friends, but he didn't love me back because he thought of me as a sister. It broke my heart, but Mama told me that boys don't want to be chased by just anyone. They want to do the chasing themselves when they're ready for that special girl. Why do you think we wait around for our princes to save us? When we do the chasing, we're chasing frogs. Your prince will come when you least likely expect it."

"I doubt it," said Rizu.

"If you keep thinking like that, he won't even bother rescuing you from the dragon," retorted Beronika. "Rizu, I knew Jeison was not going to fall for you, and I had a gut feeling Deibiddo was starting to fall out of love. I guess you just did them a favor with your pushing."

"And you really think my soul mate will overlook that?"

"Your soul mate will do whatever it takes to make your love perfect in Shinmei's eyes. You two will still have your flaws, but he'll put forth the effort to make it last. You won't have to try so hard."

"Good, because it seems that every time I do try, everything just falls apart on me!" said Rizu snarkily.

"You're a passionate and intense person," said Beronika with a shrug. "You just need to learn how to balance yourself and practice self-control."

She dropped Rizu's hands and began to walk over to her desk as she added thoughtfully, "You know, you should consider dating a Libra with that fiery Aries personality of yours. I'm sure the Scales could teach you a lesson or two on how to balance."

Rizu felt her face flush as an image of Robu ran through her mind, and she quickly looked away before her roommate could question her. _Damn you, Beronika,_ she mentally cursed.

Beronika smirked to herself and grabbed the gift bag from Rizu that was on her side of the desk. "You shouldn't have!" she said.

She reached into the bag and pulled out the Happy Bunny plushie from underneath a heavy layer of lavender tissue paper. The toy had a stuffed heart that was stitched to its hands with the acronym "BFF" in the center.

Tears began to roll down her face as she crushed the bunny against her chest. _I don't deserve this gift after what I've said to her,_ she thought sadly. _She may not be my best friend forever, but what am I to her?_

"Well?" asked Rizu. "What do you think?"

Beronika looked at the stuffed animal for a moment and replied, "I like it."

She looked down on the desk and noticed that there was a cake pan with a sticky note that had her name on the aluminum foil. Unwrapping the foil to the side, she bit back a squeal at the sight of her dessert. It was a chocolate cake with a thick spread of chocolate frosting and Japanese characters for "Happy Birthday, Beronika" in purple icing.

She grabbed a plastic fork in the bottom drawer of her dresser, and she sampled a small piece of the cake. She swallowed her bite and added, "But the cake tastes a little stale."

"That's because it's been sitting all week for you," replied Rizu.

"Well, since we both hate to see good chocolate go to waste, we got to do something about it."

The first thing Beronika did after she finished half of her cake was giving her three friends a scolding for their cold behavior toward Rizu during her absence. They felt extremely guilty for their actions, but they were not willing to give Rizu everything that she wanted out of them. Reluctantly, Beronika accepted their opinions as she took their views into deep consideration.

"Beronika, we're not as close to Rizu as she thinks we are," confessed Megu as they sat in the social lounge outside the assistant hall director's office. "We have nothing in common except we're all Angelic Guardians."

"I know that, but maybe we all should try and learn how to be friends," said Beronika.

"As long as Rizu doesn't get close to me or Deibiddo again, I'm cool with it," said Jeison as Deibiddo nodded his head in agreement.

"I don't think she will. I'm pretty certain she's learned her lesson."

"Then, that's that," said Megu. "But don't expect us to be buddy-buddy with her. She's not exactly our ideal person to be best friends with."

"I'm not."

After her ranting, Beronika made a suggestion to hang out at least once a week and do something as a group away from campus. They still went to the Student Center on Saturday nights, but they spent most of their time over at the Oukan Mall buying clothes and accessories if they had the money on them. Megu was an avid shoppaholic with a good taste in fashion, and she would drag Rizu into stores that had the popular trends for young women.

But Rizu was getting tired of playing fashion model for her friends. She stepped out of a dressing room one Saturday afternoon in a teenage punk rocker outfit and cast a glare at Megu. "No," she said firmly.

"But it looks good on you!" insisted Megu.

Beronika, Jeison, and Deibiddo exchanged looks of doubt and shook their heads. "I'm sorry, Megu, but Rizu doesn't exactly fit in with the punk scene," said Jeison.

"She's not quite a size zero either," muttered Deibiddo.

Beronika reached over and popped him upside the head for his comment. "Could you at least keep your opinions like that to yourself?" she hissed. "Body weight is a touchy subject to us!"

"I'm sorry, but it looks like _a certain someone_ painted those pants on her and the shirt is way too tight around the boobs! I'm more turned off than turned on right now!"

"But punk is the fad!" argued Megu.

"Yes, but punk doesn't suit Rizu," said Beronika.

"I am _not_ going to take her to Lolita's Closet! If you think this is bad, you haven't seen what they got over there! It's ten times worse!"

"I'm not actually into the goth scene," said Rizu. "I just go there for my anime and international rock fix."

Megu grimaced and slapped her palm over her face. "Nerds!" she sighed in exasperation.

"Well, if that's what she chooses to be, you can't force her to change herself," said Deibiddo coolly.

She took him by the arm and dragged him away from the group so the others would not hear their conversation. "I'm trying to help her get a guy!" she said through gritted teeth.

"How? By looking like a tramp?" snorted Deibiddo.

"Deibiddo, good-looking guys like you and Jeison don't care for nerdy girls! She obviously wants to date someone like you two!"

"But guys like us don't want to date fakes either! I like Rizu for who she is. Clothes don't matter to me. As long as she feels like herself when she wears them, I'm happy with that."

"Either you're gay or you must have a weird taste in women."

"When you get to be my age, you'll understand why," said Deibiddo dismissively as he walked away from her.

Following him back toward the dressing rooms, Megu kept her gaze on Rizu and shook her head. _I don't get it,_ she thought as she watched her friend put back the clothes she tried on for everyone. _How could she not like what I picked out for her? If she wants to get a guy to notice her, she has to step out of her comfort zone. Nerds are so not cool!_

March had slowly come to a close, and the five Angelic Guardians were starting sense something peculiar. There had been several minor demon sightings since their return to campus, but Kasushiusu was yet to be seen. It was not like him to stay out of the battle, and it bothered Jeison and Deibiddo greatly.

"It is me or do you sense Kasushiusu is up to no good?" asked Jeison as they climbed the steps to the library one early April afternoon.

"It has been a long time since we've fought him," admitted Deibiddo. "What makes you say that?"

"I've been getting this bad feeling lately. He must be planning something big under our noses."

"Nonsense!" scoffed Deibiddo. "He's probably still licking his wounds from our last battle with him!"

The pianist reached out to push the metal bar on the door, but he froze for a moment when he felt a pang of dark energy making contact with his hands. _Shit,_ he thought. _We're fucked._

"Deibiddo, what's wrong?" asked Jeison.

Deibiddo looked up at the tall structure in front of him and swallowed thickly. "I just got this feeling I might have found a clue," he replied.

Sitting in front of the computer at the circulation desk, Geiburieru took his eyes away from the screen when he caught a glimpse of the two Angelic Guardians walking through the metal detectors and quickly approaching him. He frowned when he noticed the serious look in their eyes and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I think I might know where Kasushiusu may have gone," replied Deibiddo quietly.

The archangel leaned closer over the counter and whispered, "Where?"

"He's here. He's somewhere in the library."

"That's impossible! I would have felt his presence!"

"No, you wouldn't!" said Jeison. "You're always inside the library! We come in from the _outside!_"

"Are you two sure you sensed Kasushiusu?"

"Yes!"

Geiburieru leaned back into his chair and began to stroke his finger beneath his chin. "I'm not sure what he has in mind, but I will inform you and the girls if I find anything suspicious."

"Can't you track him down or something?" asked Deibiddo.

"What's the point in that? He'll only clean up his tracks if I start looking for him!"

"You could always take a small trip to Hell," suggested Jeison.

"Under what presumption? That Kasushiusu is plotting something big and he's using the library to carry out his plan?" countered Geiburieru. "Going to Hell and looking for Kasushiusu without solid evidence is just as wrong as the police entering your home without a warrant! Myoujou is the master of all trickery, and he has taught his demon this skill quite well. For all we know, Kasushiusu might be throwing you off his trail just so you won't interfere with his scheme."

"_Touché._"

"'_Touché_' is right!" said Geiburieru. "Now, I'm sorry I have to do this to you, but I have work to do before finals next month. I can't afford to be bothered at this time."

"But—"

"As much as I want to help you, my hands are tied. You're on your own from here on out."

"It's okay," grumbled Deibiddo as he walked away from the circulation desk in disappointment. Turning to Jeison, he muttered, "That certainly went well."

"He is right about one thing, though," said Jeison. "Kasushiusu will clean up his mess if he finds out that Geiburieru is looking for him."

"So, what do we do now?"

"We wait."

Several weeks had passed since Deibiddo's shocking discovery, but neither Deibiddo nor Jeison dared to utter a word to their teammates. They knew that if Rizu had gotten wind about it, she would have demanded Geiburieru for a thorough search in the library, and that was something they wanted to avoid at all costs.

By the middle of April, many students were buckling down with their studies as the dreaded week of finals drew closer. The five Angelic Guardians were no exception. They would study together at the fountain in the courtyard by the library if the weather was decent, but they spent most of their nights in their rooms with their noses in their books.

Everything was going fine until one Tuesday afternoon when Rizu ran up to her friends at the fountain and asked excitedly, "Do you guys know what today is?"

"It's Tuesday," replied Deibiddo as he worked on his Music Theory 450 homework.

"Besides that."

"It's the seventeenth," said Jeison from behind his Film 395 textbook.

"Besides that too."

"It can't be your birthday," said Megu as she flipped over a page in her Psychology 100 textbook.

She cast a look at Beronika and noticed the pained expression on the dancer's face. "She's kidding!" she said in denial.

"No, she isn't," replied Beronika sheepishly. "It _is_ her birthday."

"Hmm. Happy birthday, then," said Jeison coolly.

"And many wishes to you," added Deibiddo.

Rizu felt her shoulders slump as she was taken aback by their indifference. "Come on, you guys! It's my birthday! You don't have to brush me off like this!" she whined.

"But, Rizu, we need to study for our finals," said Megu.

"Finals are not for another two weeks!"

"Yes, but we like to stay on top of our studies so we can pass our classes and graduate. Don't you care about your future?" asked Deibiddo.

"I got two more years to worry about that," groaned Rizu, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Couldn't you guys at least take me out for dinner or something?"

"We would if we could, but we don't have the money right now to go to Sukoti's," said Beronika sharply.

"Honestly, Rizu, we just don't have the time and the money to do anything. It would be one thing if your birthday wasn't so close to finals!" said Jeison.

"Is that all you guys care about—your finals?" asked Rizu. "Come on! It's my birthday! Just drop the books for a few hours, and let's go do something!"

Shutting her book loudly, Megu looked up at her and snapped, "That's it, Rizu! I've had enough of your bitching and moaning! Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean we have to do anything for you! We love you and all, but our finals are our main concern right now! Our grades take priority over everything else that doesn't concern Myoujou or academics! Had you told us sooner that you had a birthday coming up, we could have celebrated last weekend! But it's too late! We're broke, and we have tests coming up!

"I swear you're such a spoiled brat! Grow up for a change! Life isn't always about getting what you want!"

Clenching her fists, Rizu felt her lower lip stiffen as she said to her friends coldly, "You know, this was my special day, but you just had to ruin it, didn't you? Thanks a lot!"

Before anyone could stop her, she ran away toward the direction of her residence complex. The four Angelic Guardians felt guilty for hurting her, but they understood the importance of academics and careers in modern-day Japan. Had they gone a night without studying, they would have easily slipped into a funk of procrastination.

While her friends were shrugging off Rizu's tantrum, Beronika lowered her head and reached down to her messenger bag at her feet. She pulled out her Happy Bunny plushie and held it in her arms, resting her chin on its head. "Oh, Rizu, I'm so sorry," she said.

Jeison looked up from his textbook and asked, "What's wrong, B?"

"I can't believe we hurt her feelings like that."

"Well, she has to understand that the world doesn't revolve around her!" snorted Megu. "Her future is at stake, and she needs to assume some responsibility in her life."

"I know that, but I also know that she deserves some happiness today, you guys. Shinmei, it's her birthday!"

Looking at the plushie, she continued, "I understand that she acts like a child sometimes, but she has done so much for us. I just feel like we've all taken her for granted. I mean she made me a cake and bought me this toy for my birthday, but I did something horrible behind her back in return."

"What did you do?" asked Megu.

"Rizu gave me this bunny to sleep with at night because she knows how much I love Happy Bunny, but Raura gave me the same one when we celebrated my birthday at Sukoti's right after I got back from spring vacation. I felt that Raura's gift meant more to me than Rizu's because of the difference of dynamics in our friendship. I'm a better best friend to Raura than I am to Rizu, and I felt guilty."

"So, what did you do?"

"I hid Rizu's bunny in my bag when I got back to our room so she wouldn't find out what happened, and I've carried it with me since. It's kinda like a good luck charm to me, but I still have it for me to remember Rizu everywhere I go. I know I would hurt Rizu's feelings if I told her the truth, but I'm also sure she'd understand if I told why I haven't gotten rid of it. It's that special to me just like Rizu."

Everyone frowned and sat quietly until Deibiddo cleared his throat and said roughly, "You know, maybe we have been taking advantage over her. She has done so much for us, and what have we done? Absolutely nothing!"

"It's no wonder B harped on us after vacation when we kept ignoring her phone calls," said Jeison. "I never knew why she has always been so lonely until now. No one has dared to step up and treat her like a true friend."

"We just kept pushing her away because she was getting too close when all she wanted was a friend to call her own," said Megu sadly. "Rizu's right! We just _had_ to ruin her day!"

"So, how do we make it up?" asked Deibiddo.

"Who knows how to make a cake?" asked Jeison.

"I don't think a cake will make things better," said Beronika.

"How about a _chocolate_ cake?"

"That I can do!"

Rizu sat on her side of the desk as she flipped through her English Grammar textbook later that night. When she returned to her complex in tears, she received a birthday card in the mail from her parents with a gift certificate for McDonald's. They had also informed her that her two new additions to her _Sērā_ _Senshi_ doll collection were waiting at the house as soon as she got home. From her hallmates and classmates, she had received numerous birthday greetings on the school's networking website, but no one had offered to help celebrate her birthday.

_No surprise,_ she thought sadly as her brown eyes skimmed over the review questions for the current chapter she was on. _It's not like I'm twenty-one or anything this year. I don't see how next year will be any different. I'll just be one year older and one year closer to death with no one around, especially after today. I won't hold anything against B if she doesn't come back tonight._

Glancing at the clock on her computer screen, Rizu sighed heavily when she noticed that it was going on eight o'clock. _She's probably with Raura complaining about me. Why shouldn't I be surprised? They're always joined at the hip._

Slipping into the black hoodie that had been draped over her chair, she grabbed her keys and identification card before she stepped into the hallway and locked the door behind her. She decided to go on a walk through the city park after spending the last two hours studying for her finals just to clear her mind from all the drama she had imposed on her friends, but as she walked outside and cut through the parking lot behind the complex, she was oblivious to a pair of silver eyes watching her every move from the shadows.

Meanwhile, the other four Angelic Guardians spent most of the evening in Megu's kitchen putting together a birthday cake for Rizu. No one knew how to bake a round cake like the ones they had seen in the stores, but they were determined to make the best birthday cake ever just to cheer up their friend.

"Okay," said Beronika as she looked at the round chocolate dessert. "Is there anyone here who knows how to entirely frost a cake and make flowers out of the icing?"

Megu, Jeison, and Deibiddo exchanged glances before turning their attention to the many jars of white cake frosting and pastel icing packets that were scattered all over the kitchen table. "I thought you knew how to make a cake, B!" replied Megu.

"Bundt style," grimaced Beronika.

Rizu took a stroll along the river with a long face hiding beneath the cinnamon tresses that had been fluttering in the light breeze. _Another birthday has come and gone just like the other nineteen,_ chided her inner voice. _A small gift from the parents in the mail and a few birthday greetings here and there. Seriously, Rizu, what were you expecting? Some zit-faced nerd confessing his love for you?_

Stopping in her tracks, she imagined the most unattractive guy on campus coming up to her with a bouquet of red roses in hands and kneeling down before her as he declared his innermost feelings to her face. "Ugh!" she grimaced at the thought. "There goes my dinner already!"

Sighing heavily, she continued her trek to the city park with her hands in her pockets and her head hanging down. "This is the worst birthday ever!" she groaned. "What else could go wrong?"

Suddenly, a cold presence flew past her, and she stopped walking as she felt chills running up her spine. She quickly looked over her right shoulder but found nothing. "Funny," she murmured. "I could have sworn there was something—"

Just as she turned her head forward, she screamed in horror at the sight before her. There stood a gray succubus with long, wavy blonde hair that trailed all the way down to her stiletto heels. Her slender body was exposed to the human eye with only enough black satin material to cover her most private feminine areas.

"Shit!" cursed Rizu as she reached for her _henshin_ pen in her left coat pocket.

"There's no need to be scared, my pretty," crooned the succubus as she extended her fingernails on her right hand into claws. "Just let me feed upon your darkest secrets, and everything will be okay."

"The hell you will!" spat Rizu. "_Tamashii!_"

The succubus remained still as Rizu went from being an ordinary university student to her angelic counterpart in a blink of an eye. She then raked Tamashii by her claws and drew her prey closer toward her body. Her silver eyes began to emit hypnotic waves over Tamashii and caused the Angelic Guardian to fall into a deep trance.

Tamashii felt tired, and her body easily gave into the negative force. "Too… much… power…" she groaned.

The succubus brought her closer until their lips had almost met, and without making a noise, she slowly consumed her soul, devouring her every thought and fear. "An interesting Guardian you are," she purred delightfully. "You feel abandoned by your so-called friends, and even the angels haven't really smiled down on you either. You feel like you've been used to the point of being useless."

"My friends…"

"You mean those who you think are your friends?" chuckled the succubus. "If they were indeed your friends, they'd be here right now saving your life. But where are they? Not where you need them the most!"

Leaning closer, she added, "After all, if they were your real friends, they wouldn't have been so spiteful to you today, and you would have had a nice birthday!"

_That's right,_ thought Tamashii. _They would have not hurt me like that if they were my friends. They're just so worried about their damn finals. They don't care about me. They never did._

"Poor child," said the succubus with a fake pout. "Your friends think of you as weak and powerless. Perhaps they're right. Perhaps you _are_ weak and powerless!"

With each long breath the succubus took, Tamashii felt more of her soul disappear into nothingness. She had a dark feeling that she was slowly spiraling down a black hole as she saw fragments of her life flash before her eyes.

Her acceptance of Beronika's offer to be her friend…

The friendly reunion with Jeison after summer break…

Meeting Megu for the very first time…

Her first conversation with Deibiddo…

_Shinmei, _she thought as her memories lingered to the last lopsided smile Robu gave to her before he left for high school. _I don't want to lose Robu too!_

_No. I can't lose any of them no matter what! Whether they intentionally mean to hurt me or not, they're still my friends, and I will always remember that!_

"Give up, Guardian," purred the succubus. "You won't win this time!"

"No!" said Tamashii firmly as she found the inner strength to break the succubus' spell and roughly grab her wrists, pushing away the she-demon and causing her to stumble backward. "I'm _not_ weak!"

"B-b-but how did you do that?" stammered the succubus. "No one that strong can overcome my power like that!"

"I might not be the strongest Angelic Guardian out there physically, but I believe that I can wield that power inside my very heart!" said Tamashii. "And that power was given to those I care about the most—my friends!"

"But where are they?" sneered the succubus.

"In here," replied Tamashii, placing her hand over her chest where her heart was beating wildly. "I know they don't mean to criticize me, but they're the only thing I've got that's worth living for! Knowing that they do care about me gives me strength to put an end to your game!"

Summoning her bow and arrow into her hands, Tamashii took aim at the succubus, and without allowing the she-demon time to defend herself, she cried out, "Eternal Damnation!"

The shiny arrow pierced through the succubus's stomach before she shattered into millions of grey dust particles and her high-pitched screams filled the night sky over the city.

"That'll teach her a lesson," muttered Tamashii as her bow vanished from her possession.

Turning onto her heels, she found her team waiting for her. Medetai was the first to step forward and asked quietly, "Did you really mean that, Tamashii? Did you mean what you said about us?"

"Yeah," replied Tamashii with a small smile. "I'm sorry for being selfish, you guys. I shouldn't have gotten so upset like that, even if today is my birthday."

"No, we should be apologizing to you for being so cold in the first place," said Shi sincerely. "You did great tonight. I guess you're not so weak after all."

"I guess not," said Tamashii shyly. With a smile full of hope, she then asked, "So, did you change your mind?"

"Well," began the quartet in unison.

"Come on!"

"Sorry," shrugged Iinaka. "As much as we would like to celebrate right now, we really need to get back to our studies."

"Is that all you guys did today?" asked Tamashii in exasperation.

"Yes," lied Inochi. "And studying is good for you!"

Following his fellow Guardians back to the campus, he looked at Tamashii, who was caught wearing a crestfallen expression on her face, and asked, "Are you coming back with us?"

Shaking her head, Tamashii replied, "Not right now, Inochi. You guys go on without me. I'll be okay. I promise."

Inochi nodded and walked quickly to catch up with the trio that had begun to leave without him. Tamashii, however, sighed sadly and looked down at her pink boots in disappointment. "Why was I not completely surprised?" she asked aloud.

When she returned to her dorm an hour later, Rizu collapsed on her bed and absentmindedly looked at the while ceiling above her. "Well, Rizu, in less than three hours, your birthday will be over," she said to herself. "And you never really did celebrate it one way or another. Like anything special is going to happen—"

She suddenly jumped at the sound of her cell phone ringing on her bedside table with a familiar number flashing on the outer screen. Flipping the cover open, she greeted softly, "Hey, Robu."

"Happy birthday, Rizu!" said Robu Tsuchino on the other line.

"How did you know it was my birthday?" asked Rizu as she flopped against her pillows.

"Well, you told me when we first started hanging out," chuckled Robu from his computer desk in Kirugoru. "Don't tell me you forgot that!"

"I forgot!"

"Right. So, what? You're twenty now?"

"Yeah, unfortunately."

"Unfortunately?" scoffed Robu jokingly. "Rizu, you're now only one year away from being allowed to drink legally everywhere in the world, including everything from the States."

"I know, but what can do you when you turn twenty?" countered Rizu sadly. "It's not as exciting as your twenty-first birthday, you know?"

"Something tells me that you've had a bad day," said Robu. "Care to talk about it?"

"I don't think so."

"Come on! You've prodded into my business over the years, and now I'm prodding into yours. It's only fair."

"Fine!" sighed Rizu in defeat as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "My friends thought studying for our spring finals was more important than taking me out for my birthday. They told me that I needed to buckle down with my academics so I can have a good career!"

"And they're right," said Robu. "Not to burst your bubble or anything, Rizu, but you really need to focus with your studies. You're gonna be two years away from graduating university, and employers look for someone who knows their shit in the work force.

"On the other hand," he added, "that has got to be some lameass excuse I have ever heard to avoid celebrating your birthday."

"You got that right," giggled Rizu. "It certainly was."

"Well, maybe there's a reason behind it," said Robu softly. "You never know what your friends got up their sleeves. They might have a surprise waiting for you. Besides, you can't study all the time. Research has proven that too much studying can cause brain damage."

"Robu, you're the only person who would come up with that conclusion," said Rizu with a shake of her head.

"And it's a good one! You know me and my dislike toward school."

"I know."

"But anyway, I know that if I was at Oukan with you right now, I'd take you out for dinner or something just so you wouldn't feel down. It's your birthday, for Kirisuto's sake!"

"But you can't," said Rizu with a frown.

"No, I can't," sighed Robu as he ran a hand through his thick dark brown hair. "But that doesn't mean we can't celebrate it when I get back into town this summer."

"So, you _are_ planning to return!" said Rizu excitedly.

"Yeah. I'll be in Roganu a week after graduation. I'd come sooner, but I want to see my friends one last time before I have to spend three months with Grandmama. And I promise we're gonna have lots of fun this year!"

"You promise?"

"I promise," affirmed Robu. "If I must, I'll kidnap you from your house if your parents give you any fits."

Smiling in gratitude, Rizu said softly, "Thanks, Robu."

"It's nothing. Besides, I needed to ask you anyway if you want to come to my graduation ceremony next month."

"You know I can't do that," said Rizu.

"Why not?"

"Aren't your grandparents going to be there too?"

About a second later, she heard him curse loudly on the phone. "Shit! I fucking forgot about that!"

"Yeah," said Rizu. "Someone has to stay behind and take care of the popcorn stand while they're gone, and you know I'm the oldest employee on the team when it comes to age."

"I'm sorry, Rizu! I really want you to be there. I'd love for you to meet my parents too! They've been wanting to meet you for a while!"

"I know. Perhaps one day next year, I'll come by for spring vacation or something, and we could hang out for a week without Emeri separating us with work."

"That sounds like a plan," said Robu. "We'll have to get together sometime to discuss our school schedules. I hate to have you visiting me when I have class, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. I'll make sure a trip to Kirugoru happens next year."

"You better."

Silence lingered between them for a moment until Rizu heard him clearing his throat on the other line. "Well, Rizu, I need to let you go. I've been thinking about you a lot, and with today being your birthday and all, I felt the need to see how everything was going," he said. "Sounds like things are okay other than your friends."

"Things could be better," said Rizu softly before she mentally added, _especially if you were here._

"I know that feeling all too well. Don't worry, Rizu. They will."

"Why are you so sure about this stuff?"

"I don't know. I just am."

"At least you're the optimistic one," chuckled Rizu.

"Hey, someone has to do something with that negative thinking of yours," said Robu playfully. "Now, get some rest and sweet dreams."

"Bye, Robu."

"Bye, Rizu," he said before he flipped down his cell phone cover and leaned against his computer seat. He ran his hands over his face as he mentally kicked himself for making his confession to her. "Why did you have to go and tell her that?" he asked aloud. "Why did you have to say you were thinking about her?"

Back in Oukan, Rizu felt giddy at the thought of Robu Tsuchino promising her that they were going to have one of the best summers ever, but she was more excited when he told her that she had been on his mind. "What did he mean by that?" she asked as she clutched her pillow under her chin.

An hour and many frustrating attempts later, Beronika quietly opened the door to her room and led Megu, Jeison, and Deibiddo inside. In Megu's hands was the cake that they had baked and decorated underneath a sheet of aluminum foil, and Jeison carried a pink gift bag with a pink card envelope covered with yellow crescent moons sticking out at the top.

When they arrived at the residence complex, they had hoped that Rizu was still out of the room, but just as her gaze came upon her roommate's bed, Beronika smiled at the sight. She had caught Rizu, still dressed in her casual clothes, sleeping with her arms wrapped tightly around one of her pillows and a smile on her face. _She looks like she's dreaming about a special guy,_ she thought.

"Well, I'll be!" said Jeison quietly. "At least she's finally had a happy birthday of some kind."

"And it wasn't from this thing either!" whispered Megu angrily as she looked down at the cake.

"We'll let her find it in the morning," said Beronika, gently taking the cake pan from Megu and placing it next to Rizu's laptop. "Knowing Rizu, she might have it for breakfast."

She looked back at her sleeping roommate and added softly, "Happy birthday, Rizu."


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Author's Choice Song:** No songs for this chapter, but I got a lot in the next one!

Chapter Twenty

End of the Term Blues – Kasushiusu's Final Trick!

The school year was slowly coming to a close as students began to prepare for their spring semester finals. It was the time when most extracurricular activities were done for the year, when Greek parties were turned into tutoring sessions, and when students spent most of their free time finishing projects that had been assigned since January.

It was also the time when the librarians, including Geiburieru, had to set aside their usual daily routine to help frustrated students with their term papers. Scheduling a private room on the third and fourth floors was difficult for those who waited until the last week of school to study in large groups, and the library had recently announced its extended hours until commencement.

The Oukan University Library was as busy as retail stores in malls and strip plazas during the holiday season, and every table in the building was occupied by at least four students.

With the end of the school year right around the corner and with Myoujou and Kasushiusu still at large, consulting with Geiburieru was about to become harder than the Angelic Guardians had originally thought. The archangel sent a private email to them, stating that coming into his office to chat over tea would not happen until school was out for the summer.

"'I've taught you all that you need to know,'" said Rizu as she read the email aloud to her friends one afternoon, "'and you now have each other to lean on for help. Use what I've given you—your _henshin_ pens and the disc that is most likely in Rizu's room as I'm typing this—and you will know what you need to do. Your faithful friend, Geiburieru.'"

"Well, shit!" cursed Megu. "He's turning us loose without letting us know well in advance!"

"I should have seen this one coming after visiting him a few weeks ago," said Deibiddo. "Geiburieru has to keep up with his disguise, and if it means turning us down to help the other students, I completely understand."

"Deibiddo has a point," agreed Jeison. "If we decide to visit him a lot, we could cost him his job. He may be our mentor, but he is also a useful resource to this school."

"I still don't understand why he's not helping us," said Beronika.

"Shinmei probably believes that we're ready to take on Kasushiusu by ourselves. If that were not true, I think we would have heard it from Geiburieru otherwise."

"You might think you're ready, but I know I'm not," said Rizu sadly as she closed her laptop on the desk. "I really don't know what to do."

"Rizu, we know you can do it," assured Beronika. "You've already proven that when you fought off that succubus by yourself! Why are you so doubtful?"

Turning away from her friends, Rizu replied, "I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about this, you guys. With finals starting next week, I feel pressured to defeat Myoujou and his demons right away before break."

"That's because we _have_ to!" said Megu. "This is it! This is the battle we've been waiting for! And if Geiburieru says we're ready, then we're ready! If we don't kick Kasushiusu's ass before you leave for home, there might not even be an Oukan University come August!"

"Rizu, we've been fighting at your side throughout this school year," said Deibiddo, "and we're gonna help you one last time. Please, don't give up on us!"

Looking at the quartet with soft brown eyes of relief, Rizu nodded her head in reply. "I won't," she said.

Geiburieru sat at the circulation desk as he looked through the library's online catalog for overdue books. He would occasionally glance up from the computer to observe the students on the first floor, keeping a close eye out for anything unusual. Since he arrived that morning, he felt uneasy the moment he walked through the doors, and he has a strange feeling that there was a dark presence lurking in the corners.

He continued to scroll down the long list of checked-out books until he suddenly heard several high-pitched tones coming from the computer lab on the other side of the Naked Goddess. "What's going on?" he asked aloud, hoping that the school's network was not having a meltdown in the library.

He quickly walked across the hall where he found all the students in front of the computers passed out on the keyboards. Some had their faces pressed against the keys, but others were looking out to the side with their eyes wide open. It was one of the creepiest things he had ever seen as he took a closer look at the students. Not a single soul moved a muscle nor were there any signs of life.

Sensing demonic activity nearby, he spotted an open vent in the ceiling that was drawing energy from the students and a few librarians who had collapsed in various locations. The vent continued to absorb the energy source of other victims in the building from the basement and all the way to the fourth floor.

When every mortal had fallen prey to this strange incident, Geiburieru was the last person standing. Clenching his right fist at his side, he yelled angrily at the top of his lungs, "KASUSHIUSU!"

The blue demon heard the archangel's bellow from the second floor, but he refused to make himself known. He instead closed his eyes and disappeared to the ninth ring where Myoujou waited patiently for him on his throne. Bowing before the Dark Demon, he said, "The plan has been put in place, Master Myoujou."

"Very good, Kasushiusu," drawled Myoujou. "Now tell me again what you're planning to do to these students and why I should like your idea."

"Master, the students have been using all their energy for something they call 'finals' in order to finish their schooling," began Kasushiusu. "It appears that this 'final period' is so important that many have to force themselves to study for each class. Such energy and thinking have been devoted to just studying. It is if academics have become their main _kami_, Master.

"By stealing their energy, I have brought exhaustion and fatigue to each person that is currently in the library or this strange house of unusual worship—students, faculty members, and the likes. And my energy crystal, which I have placed in one of the maintenance rooms on the lowest level, will continue to grow as long as a mortal walks through those doors and starts studying.

"But, Master," continued Kasushiusu, "it also appears that we have an unwelcome guest in the library, one who will be perfect to use as bait to attract the Angelic Guardians into my little trap."

"And who may that be?" growled Myoujou.

"Geiburieru, the archangel himself, Master," replied Kasushiusu with a smirk. "He has been hiding under our noses after all this time as a mortal!"

"How did you know this?"

"He's the only one who has not been affected by my dark magic. I have created an illusion to trick the mortal mind, but it would seem that Geiburieru has managed to see through it. I'm sure he'll be leaving very shortly to inform the Angelic Guardians about what's happened to their classmates."

"And when they do arrive, what will become of them, Kasushiusu?" inquired Myoujou.

"I have planted a demon inside the heart of every victim that has fallen under my spell, and I plan to use them as my puppets to trap the Angelic Guardians and destroy them!" explained Kasushiusu. "This spell is not easy to break, Master, for there is one way to free the students: self-sacrifice. Should Tamashii's friends commit some form of suicide, she will be in the exact situation where I want her—alone and powerless. She should be an easy defeat without the help of her friends, Master."

"Are you sure there are no loopholes in this foolproof plan of yours?" asked Myoujou as he narrowed his black eyes at his servant.

"I'm very sure, Master."

"Because if you fail me, you might as well as give yourself over to the Angelic Guardians and die by their hands! I will not tolerate failure!"

Bowing his head with his face hidden behind a silky curtain of white, Kasushiusu replied firmly, "I will not fail you, Master Myoujou. I _will_ succeed!"

Rizu and Beronika were strolling past Micchi's open office door that afternoon when his cheery voice caught their attention. "Hey, girls! I got something to tell you!" he called from his desk.

Poking their heads around the corner, they looked at their hall director in confusion. "Hey, Micchi! What's going on?" asked Rizu.

"Before either of you freak out, I let in a faculty member into your room," explained Micchi as he approached the two students. "I know it wasn't right of me to do that, and I will take the blame if any of your belongings were stolen—"

"What did he look like?" interrupted Beronika.

"He had wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, glasses," answered Micchi. "He said it was an emergency, and I told them that you two were most likely coming back from your classes."

"How long ago did you talk to him?" inquired Rizu.

"About five minutes ago. I just got downstairs from unlocking your room."

"Thanks, Micchi!" said Rizu as she darted toward the security scanner and unlocked the doors to her hall with a quick swipe of her identification card. With Beronika running up the stairs behind her, she rushed to the third floor where she found the door to their room standing wide open. "Geiburieru!" she called.

"In here!" answered the archangel as he watched the duo cross the threshold and motioned Beronika to close the door behind her. "I'm very grateful I found you two in time," he sighed in relief.

"There's something wrong, isn't there?" said Rizu as she dropped her messenger bag onto her bed to take off her school overcoat.

Geiburieru nodded his head and replied, "Kasushiusu has taken over the library. He has stolen massive amounts of energy from everyone inside, and I fear he's collecting more victims right now."

"I don't get how he managed to avoid you!" said Beronika, setting her gym bag inside her open closet. "You're usually great when it comes to sensing danger!"

"How's he stealing energy?" asked Rizu.

"I'm not quite sure, but I noticed that there were vents absorbing all the energy on the first floor. I have a sneaking suspicion that he has set up his operation base in one of the maintenance rooms. Which one? I'm not sure. There are at least three on each floor, and it could be any of them."

"What has happened so far?"

"All the students and faculty members that were in the library passed out from the loss of energy. I can almost bet you the reason why I didn't catch on so quickly was because Kasushiusu must have created an illusion or something just to fool me."

"That bastard!" cursed Rizu.

"So, how come you weren't affected?" asked Beronika.

"Because I'm not a mortal like you. That has got to be the reason why I was immune to his magic," answered Geiburieru with a sad sigh. "Kasushiusu knows I am alive and well, and he is probably waiting for you to fight him. By coming to you, I might have trigged his trap. Then again, I had no other choice. Had I fought Kasushiusu instead of running away to search for you, there's a good chance that I might not be here right now."

"I understand, Geiburieru," said Rizu.

"But, Rizu, this is _the_ battle of all the battles," warned the archangel. "Kasushiusu is slowly taking control over the campus, and many students don't know what they've gotten themselves into by going to the library. I just hope Megu, Jeison, and Deibiddo are far away from there."

"They are," assured Beronika. "I hate to call them out of class just so we can stop Kasushiusu. I know they get done this evening, but I don't think we can wait around for them any longer. I really want to put an end to this before it's too late."

Suddenly, Rizu's cell phone went off in her messenger bag, and she reached into the outer pocket to find Megu's name and number flashing on the outer screen. "I don't think we need to worry about that, B," she said, flipping the cell phone open and placing it to her ear. "Megu?"

"Rizu, you are not going to believe this! The entire campus is going nuts right now!" said Megu on the other line. "The president of the school has cancelled classes for the rest of the day because of an incident at the library!"

"What's going on?" asked Rizu, turning her attention to Geiburieru.

"Apparently, no one can get inside the building, and there are still students inside! There aren't even any doors, and the windows are so tinted, you can't see what's going on from the outside! I got a bad feeling about this!"

"Where's Jeison and Deibiddo?"

"They're right here with me," answered Megu as she glanced at the two male Guardians who were standing with her outside the library. They occasionally shifted their gaze toward the dark sky that was looming over them as if a storm was brewing out of the blue. "We're at the library near the south entrance."

"Stay there!" ordered Rizu. "B and I will be there very soon!"

"Where's Geiburieru?"

"He's here."

"Thank Shinmei!" said Megu in relief. "Hurry up! We don't have much time!"

"We're on it!"

Closing her cell phone, Rizu looked at Beronika and Geiburieru with a serious on her face as she said, "Let's do it."

"This is it, you guys," said Shi moments later as he stood at the foot of the steps of the library with the other four Angelic Guardians and Geiburieru standing by his side. "This is the big one. We made it this far, and there's no turning back now."

Everything around the tall brick building was grim. The entire campus was quiet after the president called an emergency lock-down on school grounds in order to prevent any more victims from entering the library, and many students were forced to return to their dorms and apartments and stay behind closed doors until the situation had passed. Despite of the announcement, several curious students ignored the president's order and walked through the doors before both entrances vanished into thin air behind them.

Tamashii looked up at the sky and watched the dark clouds slowly rotate above the library like a funnel cloud in the middle of a spring storm. _I don't like this one bit,_ she thought.

"How are we going to get in?" asked Medetai.

"There's the entrance on the roof," said Inochi.

"But we don't have wings like Geiburieru!"

"You'll have to teleport your way through Kasushiusu's spell to get inside," replied Geiburieru.

"How?" asked Iinaka. "We've never done that before!"

"All you have to is to think of a particular spot in this library and focus on every detail from the colors to the textures. You must will yourself to arrive at that spot with your powers."

"Has it worked?" asked Tamashii.

"Yes," said Geiburieru, "but that also depends on the context of your question. It has worked successfully _and_ unsuccessfully. I once knew a group of Guardians that made this teleport and half of them ended up some place else instead of where they were planning to go."

Glancing over at the pink _senshi_, he added mischieveously, "But I'm not trying to put the pressure on you five to do this teleport right on the first try."

Tamashii swallowed hard and let out a small, nervous laugh. "Of course not!" she said with a fake smile.

"I don't care about where we end up in this labyrinth of books, but we can't waste any more time!" said Inochi. "Let's do it, you guys, so we can send Kasushiusu packing!"

"Right!" said his teammates.

"The Naked Goddess would be the best place to meet up," suggested Shi. "So, just focus on her in your mind."

With eyes closed and minds cleared from any mental distractions, each Angelic Guardian pictured the statue by the spiral staircase, taking in every little detail from the aging bronze texture of the sculpture to the surroundings of the first floor and main lobby inside the building. They pictured the circulation desk to the east of the south entrance, the computer lab adjacent to the north entrance, and the spiral staircase that led to either the music and education sections in the lower level or the government and reference sections on the second floor.

The heart gemstones in the center of their cross brooches began to glow brightly and emitted a strong power that surrounded their bodies, enveloping an Angelic Guardian inside an energy bubble for protection. The bubbles then vanished as fast as they appeared, and Geiburieru stood alone at bottom step.

"Be careful," he whispered as he silently prayed for the quintet's safety. "You can do it."

Within the walls of the library, the five energy bubbles floated around the spiral staircase as the Angelic Guardians landed carefully onto the floor. Once their boots made contact with the white tiles, the bubbles disappeared, and the quintet was quickly exposed to the dark presence of their enemy.

They were not surprised what they saw when they began their search. Not a single soul was found anywhere on the first floor and around the glass barriers that surrounded the giant opening above them. No one was at the computer lab or at the circulation desk, and the aisles of books were eerily quiet.

"This is very creepy!" said Tamashii warily as she stood close to her friends.

"And Kasushiusu could be anywhere," murmured Shi.

He began to walk around the spiral staircase while he brainstormed ideas for a plan. "We better split up," he said. "I have a feeling there's nothing to see on the first floor, but we need to cover the other four. Kasushiusu might be trying to throw us off his lead."

"I'll take the lower level," said Medetai as she headed toward the spiral set of stairs that led to the basement.

"Medetai!" cried Tamashii. "Don't go!"

Medetai glanced at her leader with an assuring smile of hope on her lips. "Don't worry, Tamashii," she said. "I'll be okay."

Descending her way to the lower level, she quickly ran down the angled steps and never looked back over her shoulders.

"Be careful," whispered Tamashii under her breath.

"I'll take the second floor," said Iinaka.

Just like the Angelic Guardian before her, she left the others behind as she climbed the other half of the spiral staircase to the upper level above them. As soon as she reached the top step, she leaned over the glass railing and gave the trio below a thumb up before she dashed to the east wing to begin her search.

"I guess I got the third floor," said Inochi, walking toward the direction of the elevators near the computer lab.

"And I'll take the fourth," said Shi, going the other way to the elevators next to the circulation desk in the east wing.

"Wait!" said Tamashii to the two male Guardians. "Where can I go?"

Glancing at Inochi for a brief second and then back to her, Shi softly smiled and replied, "I'll let you come with me. I could always use some help."

Tamashii nodded her head and ran to his side just in time as he pressed on the top arrow with a slender black-gloved finger and watched the doors slowly open for them. "After you," he said, gesturing her to enter the elevator before him.

"Thanks," said Tamashii.

When Shi stepped into the car and pressed the button for the fourth floor, the stainless steel doors were closed shut, and the compartment began to move slowly to their destination, painfully ascending inch by inch.

"Is it me or does it feel slower than usual?" asked Tamashii seconds later, never looking at the direction of the black Angelic Guardian standing next to her.

Shi kept his eye on the numbers above the doors as he listened to her question, mentally noting that the car had not yet reached the second floor. "Now that you mentioned it, I think this elevator is rigged," he said. "We should have been on the fourth floor by now."

"Do you think it's a trap?"

"Doubt it. Cutting the cables at the top would just be too easy for Kasushiusu. If anything, the fourth floor is set up as the trap itself, and we're taking the bait."

He looked over at Tamashii who had been keeping her gaze on the doors before them with a hint of worry shimmering in her brown eyes. "Are you scared?" he asked gruffly.

"Very," whispered Tamashii. "I've never been scared like this before, but we're about to go up against a very powerful demon, and slow-moving elevators that are rigged by said demon just add onto my fear. I mean what if we don't make it, Shi? What if we fail?"

Slipping his right hand into her left and threading the long, bony digits between hers, Shi replied softly, "We won't if we believe we'll win."

Tamashii turned her head to see him looking down at his feet with a sad expression on his face as he added, "To tell you the truth, I'm just as scared as you are, Tamashii."

_Ping!_

She glanced above the elevator doors to find that their car had finally reached the second floor as it continued to make its way to the top floor. "Why should _you_ be scared?" she asked as she turned her attention back to her dark friend. "You've been on that side before! You know what it's like to put the fear of Myoujou into others!"

"But I'm a traitor too, remember?" answered Shi. "Before I turned my back on you months ago, I never had friends who cared about me so much that they'd give up their lives just to fight with me in this war, just to fight with _you_. I was alone, and being alone was the only thing that I ever learned as I prepared myself for this very battle. But now that I have you, Medetai, and the others, I'm scared that I'm going to lose you all."

"If there's anyone who should be scared of that, it should be me," said Tamashii sadly, tightening her grip onto Shi's hand. "I don't know what to do if I end up facing Kasushiusu by myself."

_Ping!_

"You'll know exactly what to do," assured Shi. "And we'll be there to help you."

Tamashii gave a weak smile and asked, "You promise?"

"I promise."

With a small smile of gratitude, Tamashii then asked, "What _was_ it like being on the other side?"

Hearing the sound of the gears above their heads slowing down, Shi answered softly, "Lonely. Lonely and cold. Nothing compared to what mankind thought Hell would be. All the fire and brimstone you hear about in church is within the walls of Pandemonium and nowhere else. The nine rings in the Lake of Fire are more like your prison according to what great sin you committed before your death, and it gets colder as you descend further into Hell."

"If you didn't believe in Shinmei and Iesu, where would you go?" asked Tamashii.

The car stopped as Shi heard the final ping, and he took his hand out from Tamashii's grip while watching the elevator doors slide open. "I can't really say, but I would guess the ninth ring—the home of the treacherous," he replied. "That would have been my eternal home."

The doors opened wide, and the duo stepped out of the car and onto the carpeted walkway of the fourth floor. They scanned the premises for unusual activity but found nothing suspicious within the sea of books that stretched across the entire top level of the building. "What is it with Kasushiusu and labyrinths?" complained Tamashii.

"Labyrinths were popular during his time on earth, although they were heavily favored by his enemies across the sea," replied Shi as he walked toward the west wing. "Kasushiusu thinks of them as demented entertainment, but he also finds them to be great for exercise and training."

"So, what's his purpose this time?" asked Tamashii with a shudder.

Shi smirked to himself, shooting a quick glance at her from the corner of his eye, and then answered, "Entertainment."

They carefully entered the giant room of books and came up short in their search. There was not a single student in the aisles nor was there a shadow lurking around on the walls. The room looked like it was free from any demonic activity.

"Okay! Nothing's here! Let's go so we can see what the others are doing!" said Tamashii before she quickly turned the other way to rush back to the elevators.

Shi's deadly scythe blocked her path as the Angel of Death nonverbally +commanded her not to run away from the scene. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said coldly with a grim expression.

Slowly looking up at him, Tamashii gulped loudly. _He wouldn't,_ she thought as she tried to deny the very idea of his one and only plan.

They were going to go aisle by aisle just to clear out the demons that might be hiding from their eyes.

"This is an illusion," said Shi.

"How can you tell?" asked Tamashii. "It's empty! There's nothing but books here!"

"Demons can come in many forms, including shadows and everyday objects, but even humans that are possessed by these demons can shift-shape if they desire."

"So, you're saying that we got company?" asked Tamashii nervously as she felt her left eye begin to twitch.

"I'll bet you some of these books are not even real," chuckled Shi. "I can sense their negative energy emitting from the very pages. They're very much demonic."

"But we can't kill them if they're students!"

"The students' bodies won't be fatally harmed, if that's what you're thinking. It's the demons that live inside them that we're after."

Tamashii looked at the sea of books that had filled almost every space on the metal shelves before her, and she soon noticed a few books sliding out from their spots and levitating themselves in midair. Then, more books joined them and then some more until the books had formed two long lines and magically charged toward the two Angelic Guardians like a fast locomotive with broken brakes.

"Get down!" yelled Shi as he pulled Tamashii down with him to dodge the assault.

The books then split off into two opposite directions in the form of a "y" until Tamashii and Shi were trapped inside a circle. The books suddenly grew arms and legs, and without warning, the bindings burst as dozens of demon-possessed students stepped out of the pages.

"How did you know what they were?" asked Tamashii.

"Did you honestly think Kasushiusu would let books lie around for bait?" growled Shi, gripping his scythe tightly in his right hand. "He'd rather use these students just to play with our minds. Like I said, the students will _not_ die; only the demons that live inside them! Don't be fooled by this trick!"

The students slowly approached the two Guardians with wanting arms reaching out to them. Tamashii and Shi took several small steps back until their spines were against each other. "What are we going to do?" asked Tamashii frantically. "It's too risky to use your scythe being this close to me!"

Suddenly, a melodic song was heard outside of the room, and the students fell into a trance as they stilled their movement. Lowering their arms, they drooped their heads with a dazed look in their eyes.

"Inochi!" breathed Tamashii in relief as she turned around to find the Angel of Life standing at the threshold with his lyre in his hands.

"Now, Shi!" he commanded, grabbing Tamashii by the wrist and pulling her away from the circle.

"I'm on it!" replied Shi as he twirled his scythe over his head between his fingers and gathered massive amounts of pure energy into the silver blade

"Grim Reaper Touch!" he cried out, hurling his scythe into the floor and unleashing a mass of pure energy into the hearts of the students. He drove many demons out of their bodies and watched them disintegrate in the light. The students then collapsed onto the floor like dominoes as their bodies fell around Shi.

"That was too close," said Inochi.

"I'd say!" snorted Tamashii. "I'll have to remember to double check a book before I borrow it again!"

"What did you find?" asked Shi, looking at Inochi for an answer.

"Just more students," replied Inochi coolly, "but I couldn't defeat them with my lyre. I'm not sure if they're still under my spell."

"Probably not," said Shi. "It should have been lifted a while ago."

"Is that all you found?" asked Inochi as he pointed to the unconscious students at his white boots.

"So far," replied Tamashii.

"Then, let's see if we got something else in the other room. The sooner Shi can exorcise the demons from the victims, the better."

Just as Inochi took a step forward, they heard a loud noise erupting from underneath and felt the building begin to shake violently like a small earthquake. Books fell off the shelves as the metal structures wobbled about, and the lights above them flickered on and off like electricity going out during a strong thunderstorm. Chunks of plaster from the ceiling fell onto the floor, and giant cracks scattered across the room.

"An earthquake?" asked Tamashii.

"Not really," answered Inochi.

The tremor slowly came to a stop, and the power throughout the library was fully restored as if nothing had happened during that brief moment except for the piles of books that were on the floor amidst a layer of dust and plaster from the ceiling tiles.

"What _was_ that?" breathed Inochi as he turned to Shi. "Kasushiusu?"

Shi stood still in complete shock with tears of sorrow forming in his eyes. Sadly shaking his head in reply, he answered in a raspy voice, "No. _That_ was Medetai."

"What?" asked Tamashii and Inochi in unison.

"But how?" demanded Tamashii.

"I'm not sure, but I'm gonna find out," replied Shi.

He closed his eyes as his mind pictured the events that led to the unusual earthquake just moments before. He mentally split his spirit from his body, and he put himself in the shadows of the lower level where he watched Medetai fighting off a mob of possessed students and librarians with just her physical attacks. But with all the kicks and punches that she was throwing, the crowd was just too much for her.

A possessed American football player from out of nowhere grabbed her by the waist, and the small crowd slowly closed in on her as they reached out and roughly grabbed her by the limbs. "Help! Somebody, help!" she cried.

Shi stood still and sadly watched her being overpowered by Kasushiusu's pawns. He longed to save her from her inevitable death, tightly gripping onto his scythe out of frustration, but even his spirit knew where to draw the line between fate and misfortune.

"I'm sorry, Medetai," he whispered as he continued to observe the tragedy before him.

Freeing her right hand from the sea of possessed bodies, Medetai formed a growing golden ball of energy from her index finger, and with one final breath, she cried out, "Shooting Star!"

Shi forced his spiritual body to shield itself from the bright blast, knowing that the one he cared for the most and the victims that were hurting her had been consumed in the attack. A warm presence flew past him, and the ground shook violently beneath his feet as the walls and shelves behind him fell apart from the intensity of the attack.

When the dust had settled, he looked over his right shoulder only to find nothing but a crater-shaped hole in the ground of the basement, the spot where Medetai had last been seen. Not a single body was found in the aftermath, and not a sole survivor lived through the blast.

When reality, spirit, and body had finally merged together once again, Shi's eyes snapped open before turning their sad gaze to Tamashii and Inochi. He felt a lump forming in the middle of his throat, and he forced himself not to vomit in front of his friends. "She didn't make it," he choked. "She ended up sacrificing herself."

"No!" cried Tamashii as she began to feel the threat of hot tears forming in her eyes. "She can't be gone! She just can't!"

"Tamashii," said Shi softly as he gathered her into his strong arms and allowed her to cry into his black tunic. "She had to do what she had to do to protect you."

"But why? Why like this? She can't die! We're not supposed to!"

"But we're also mortals, Tamashii. Even on earth, our bodies are not eternal like our souls. I've lived many deaths just like you and Inochi here. She'll return."

"I want her _now_!" wailed Tamashii. "She's not supposed to die!"

"I know you do, and we all do," whispered Shi. "But she had no other choice."

"She did too! She could have fought the demons off with all she's got! I know she could have done better than giving up!"

Grabbing her roughly by the shoulders, Shi pulled her to attention and glared at her from behind his own tears. "You don't know what was going on, do you?" he screamed angrily. "She couldn't free herself _that_ easily! These demons were just too much for her! How do you think I feel now that I've seen how she died? You're right! She didn't deserve to die, but she gave all she had just to keep those demons away from you, Tamashii! Do you understand this?"

Tamashii looked at him with fearful eyes, for she had never seen his anger reach this high before. It was obvious that he cared for their fallen friend deeply and that he, too, was hurt by the turn of events. The way he was gripping her shoulders and the marks he was leaving beneath his fingers were just mere reflections of the darkest emotions he was feeling deep inside. Swallowing hard, she squeaked, "Yes?"

"Good!" growled Shi, letting her go from his grasp to reflect and to soothe his raging emotions.

Neither of them spoke to the other as bittersweet memories of Medetai and Beronika ran through their minds, but it was Inochi who broke the silence when he whispered, "Iinaka."

Both Tamashii and Shi looked up at him and noticed the deep concentration on his face. "We need to get to her fast!" they heard him murmur.

Before either of them could utter a word to stop him, Inochi ran toward the direction of the staircase near the elevators, knowing that he had no time to wait around on the elevator, and quickly sprinted to the second floor with them following his trail.

By the time they had entered the second floor from the emergency staircase, it was too late. Iinaka was in a similar predicament like the one that Shi had envisioned concerning Medetai. She was stuck in the middle of a crowd of faculty members inside the government publications room.

"Iinaka!" screamed Tamashii as she threw open the door to rescue her friend.

"Don't worry about me, guys!" called Iinaka, summoning a fireball into the palm of her right hand. "Go on and fight Kasushiusu, Tamashii! I'll be okay!"

"No, Iinaka!" cried Shi. "Don't!"

"Go!" insisted Iinaka. "Make sure Tamashii doesn't get hurt!"

Raising the flaming energy ball into the air, she batted it with her left hand and cried out, "Flame Spike!"

As her hand made contact with the fireball, a fiery blast of energy was unleashed and consumed both Iinaka and the possessed faculty members inside its red bubble. Tamashii slammed the door to protect herself from the attack and watched the room erupt into flames from the other side of the glass. The fire was quickly put out as papers and books dissolved into but soot and ashes.

Shi and Inochi looked over Tamashii's shoulder and noticed that there was nothing left but a black spot on the floor where the explosion had taken place. There were no bodies, including Iinaka's, lying in the debris, and the scene reminded Shi too much of what he saw after he watched Medetai kill herself with her magic.

"No! Iinaka, no!" cried Tamashii as she banged her fist against the door. "This isn't fair! Medetai… Iinaka… Why, you guys? Why?"

Shi and Inochi stood silently as they watched her cry for the loss of another teammate. Though they wished they could shed tears of sorrow with her, their eyes were showing a different message—a message of resignation. They knew after losing both Medetai and Iinaka that this particular battle was meant for Tamashii and for Tamashii alone.

They exchanged knowing glances and nodded in agreement. "We must go," said Shi to his companion.

Tamashii felt her body tense up at his words. Sitting up, she looked over her right shoulder to see the two remaining Angelic Guardians walking toward the elevators to their left. "Where are you going?" she asked with tears running down her face.

"We still have to deal with the demons on the third floor that Inochi couldn't finish without us," answered Shi as he pressed the upper arrow. "Stay here."

"Shi! Inochi! Don't go!" protested Tamashii, rushing over to her friends as she heard the sound of the elevator car approaching the second floor. "I need you!"

"This is your battle, Tamashii," said Inochi. "We're not supposed to be involved."

"I won't let you do this to me!"

"You have to!" snapped Shi. "We don't want to do this either, but we have to! This is how it's supposed to be!"

The high-pitched ping from the elevator reached Tamashii's ears, and the silver doors slowly opened for the duo. "Guys," she whispered.

Neither Shi nor Inochi spoke a word to her as they entered the car with Inochi pressing down the button for the third floor. He turned around in time to see the doors begin to close on Tamashii, and he said softly to her, "Just believe, and you will win. You can do it, Tamashii."

The doors slid shut, and Tamashii lowered her head to cry, letting her tears fall on the carpet underneath her feet. From above, she heard the faint sounds of a demon battle taking place, the beautiful chords of Inochi's lyre, and the final words of Shi before he took his life with his own hands.

"Grim Reaper Touch!"

Knowing that Shi's scythe had touched the floor, she was not surprised to hear a sudden blow coming from the ceiling followed by a violent movement that shook the library from the ground floor up. The ceiling tiles began to fall apart around her as dust and debris filled the air, but Tamashii still refused to move from her spot when the lights everywhere in the building began to flicker on and off until the power had finally gone out.

She clenched her fists against her sides, and tears ran down her face from behind her pink mask as she continued to weep for her loss. "Guys," she sobbed in the darkness, "don't leave me alone. Don't leave me…"


	22. Chapter TwentyOne

**Author's Choice Song:** Well, I got three for you this time. The first one, which would most likely take place during Tamashii's meeting with the spirits of Medetai, Iinaka, Shi, and Inochi, is MUSE's "Soldier's Poem". When I first heard this song, I pictured Tamashii doubting herself and questioning Shinmei why everything happened the way it happened in the previous chapter (_"How could you send us so far away from home? When you know damn well that is this wrong, I would still lay down my life for you. And you think you deserve your freedom. No, I don't think you do. There's no justice in the world... And there never was."_) I could see why she'd get so angry after losing her friends.

The second and the third songs are both toss ups for the battle against Kasushiusu. At first, I thought about Dogstar's "Stagger" (in case you don't know who Dogstar is, you might have heard of their old bass player aka "the worst actor in Hollywood" to all you theatre majors), but then I heard REO Speedwagon's "Keep Pushin'", and I realized that it would probably do better than "Stagger". (for one, a lot of people are more familiar with "Keep Pushin'" by a long shot.)

Chapter Twenty-One

A Traitor's Last Laugh – Tamashii Vs. Kasushiusu!

Down the spiral steps to the basement floor where Shi had witnessed Medetai's death stood a doorway that reeked of negative energy. On the outside, the door was like any other door—painted green over smooth wood—but the inside was something else.

The door led to a dark, dreary realm where space and time were meaningless. Everything was shrouded in darkness like the night sky, and the only source of light that could be found in the mysterious world was from a giant red crystal that had consumed the energy of hundreds of students and adults.

Kasushiusu stood silently before his beloved prized possession, the treasure that had brought him the key victory in his war against Tamashii. Had it not been for his brilliant plan to brainwash the students and the faculty members of Oukan University, the other four Angelic Guardians would have been alive and well.

_But now, the tables have turned, and the victory is in my favor, _he thought with a smirk of satisfaction on his lips. _Nothing is going to change that._

Surrounding the crystal were five points in the shape of a star within a circle, the symbol of the pentagram. With the exception of the top point facing out on the other side of the red crystal, the unconscious bodies of Medetai, Iinaka, Shi, and Inochi appeared from the shadows. A beam of light shot straight up to keep each sleeping Angelic Guardian captive within its energy shield, and the red crystal glowed brightly as it absorbed a small amount of pure energy that they possessed.

Chuckling to himself in triumph, Kasushiusu purred, "Let's see just how good you are again without your friends on your side, Tamashii."

None of the four Guardians moved a muscle in retaliation, and Kasushiusu was relieved to see them trapped and helpless in his spell. _They won't know what hit them when I've destroyed their Seed Crystals in their sleep,_ he mused to himself.

Meanwhile, every corner of the first floor was quiet except for one lone soul somewhere between the east elevators and the spiral staircase. Curled up into a ball in one of the large blue-cushioned chairs, Tamashii buried her face into her arms with her knees propped up for support as she mourned for the death of her friends. She was thankful for the solitude, but she was also saddened for the lack of physical comfort to help her subdue her grief. She secretly longed to have someone to hold her, but she knew that such notion could never happen unless it was Kasushiusu trying to win her over to the dark side.

"Guys," she choked out from beneath her tears. "Oh, you guys, I wish you were here right now."

She prayed that someone heard her lament, but when she strained her ears, she heard nothing but silence all around her.

Crying harder, she wailed into her kneecaps and felt the hot tears running down her thighs as her sobbing continued. "It's my fault!" she cried. "I should have stopped Shi from suggesting the idea in the first place! It's my fault you're all dead!"

Throwing her head back in frustration, she cried out to Heaven, "Take me away from here, Shinmei! I don't want to fight anymore! I just want to go home!"

"But you _are_ home."

A pale purple-gloved hand covered Tamashii's right shoulder, and the pink _senshi _was startled for a moment. Screeching loudly, she instinctively jumped to her feet and faced the person who caused her to snap out of her pity party, but just seeing who the stranger was made her feel more terrified.

Standing before her was the spirit of Medetai with a small smile on her lips. "Eek!" shrieked Tamashii. "I'm dead! I'm dead!"

"Calm down," said Medetai.

"How can I when you're standing right in front of me and I'm having a conversation with you? Ghosts don't exist!"

"Tamashii, you're not dead," assured Medetai as she laughed softly to relieve Tamashii's fear.

Blinking a few times in confusion, Tamashii looked at her and asked, "I'm not?"

"No," giggled another spirit.

Glancing over her right shoulder, Tamashii saw Iinaka casullaly walking up to her. "You're alive and well, just like Kasushiusu," she added.

"But you're all dead! I found out that Medetai died in her own attack, I watched Iinaka kill herself, and I heard Shi take his life with Inochi! You can't tell me that you're not ghosts!" cried Tamashii.

"Just because our physical bodies are no longer useful, that doesn't make us ghosts," replied Shi, who stood next to Medetai as he appeared from the shadows. "Tamashii, we're the spirits of the four Angelic Guardians who gave up their lives for your sake."

"But you told me that you take on different appearances every time you're reborn. How come you look like my friends?"

"Until we are selected to return to earth in the body of another Chosen One, we'll always look the same to you," explained Shi.

"Why?"

"Because in this life, you associate us with your friends."

"I see," said Tamashii sadly as fond memories of Beronika, Megu, Jeison, and Deibiddo crept into her memories. "So, why are you here?"

"To make sure that you don't give up on us," answered Inochi from behind her left shoulder. "Kasushiusu has collected our bodies, and he's trying to drain the power of our Seed Crystals so that we may never live again. Now is not the time to be a coward. The world is depending on you."

"But I need you!" protested Tamashii softly with tears running down her face. "I need all of you! I can't do this on my own, you guys! I need your help!"

Walking up to her, Medetai placed a cold hand on her left shoulder and asked, "Remember the night of your birthday when the four of us didn't get to you in time, and we thought that you might have been killed or something? Remember what we found instead? A strong, brave Angelic Guardian who wasted a she-demon on her own without our help."

"That was just a fluke," muttered Tamashii. "I was not in the right mind that night—"

"Yes, you were!" argued Medetai. "You believed that no matter how much we criticized you, we would always be your friends! What was it that you said—that your friends are what give you your strength?

"Tamashii, believe in us now like you did then. Even in the afterlife, we'll always be there for you. We'll give you whatever you need to defeat Kasushiusu and to stop his control over the school. Don't give up, Tamashii! You're our only hope!"

Looking at the other three Angelic Guardians, who were found nodding their heads in agreement, Tamashii felt a renewed sense of hope and assurance deep within her heart. Medetai's spirit was absolutely right. Even if her friends were absent at her side, she knew that they would always be watching over her somewhere in the afterlife.

Turning her attention back to Medetai, shenodded in understanding. "Thanks, you guys," she said softly.

"Now, go get that bastard," said Medetai before she took several steps back next to Shi and disappeared into the darkness with the other spirits following her momentarily.

Although she was alone once more, Tamashii wiped away the dried tears from her eyes and looked up at the ceiling as if she sensed Shinmei smiling down on her. With her lips twitching upward and her heart feeling lighter, she walked over to the elevators pushed top button to ride to the fourth floor.

_They're right,_ she thought as the left set of doors opened for her and she stepped into the car. _I've still got a mission to do, and I can't chicken out! I'm not going to let my friends, Geiburieru, and Shinmei down just because I'm a coward._

_But I'm not a coward. I'm an Angelic Guardian, and I'm gonna show Kasushiusu why I was chosen in the first place!_

The red crystal began to glow brightly as its dark energy picked up Tamashii's presence lurking outside an upper doorway on the fourth floor. "Well, well, well," purred Kasushiusu silkily. "It looks like our friend has finally decided to show up after all. Can't let the fun begin without her, can we?"

On the other side, Tamashii strolled past the group of students that Shi had defeated earlier and stopped in front of a green door that she had never seen until that very moment. She took a step closer and suddenly sensed an evil presence that lied past the threshold. Judging by the dark energy that it was radiating, she had a gut feeling that Kasushiusu was waiting for her.

"This is it," she said to herself as she reached out to touch the brass knob, but just as her fingers had wrapped themselves around the circular object, the door flew open and she was sucked into another world. Tamashii could feel herself falling through the dark passage, and just like Alice going down the rabbit hole in the world of Wonderland, she was unsure where she would land when she had reached the bottom.

_That is,_ if_ there is a bottom,_ she thought for a moment or two as she continued to fall. She tried to scream for help, but because she was free falling so fast in the infinite void, her voice was unable to produce any sound.

She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable crash landing. Body and ground made hard contact, and shelanded with a loud thud. "Ow!" she groaned with her left cheek lying against the cold floor. "That hurts!"

Slowly picking herself up from her fall, she looked over her shoulder and found the four limp bodies of her friends inside energy shields, watching in horror as Kasushiusu's bright red crystal continued to absorb their pure energy.

"That bastard!" she growled. "I'm gonna kill him for what he did to them!"

"I'd like to see you try."

On the other side of the crystal stood Kasushiusu with his arms crossed against his chest. Sensing a new power that he had received from the crystal, Tamashii felt chills running down her spine. This was certainly not the same Kasushiusu that she had faced many times before. This Kasushiusu was more powerful just by taking one look at him. There was indeed something different about the smirk on his lips and the way he walked as he drew closer to her.

With each step he took forward, Tamashii took one back and continued to do so until her right ankle hit the dark wall behind her. Her heart sank, and her fear was slowly taking over her mind. _How did he get so powerful under my nose?_ she thought. _He was never like this before!_

Kasushiusu stopped in his tracks as he looked down at her like a hungry vulture watching its prey. "What is it, Tamashii?" he purred. "Scared to fight me without your little friends?"

"What are you doing to them?" she demanded.

"Just a minor tweaking to Shinmei's grand plan," replied Kasushiusu.

"Minor tweaking? You're _killing_ them!"

"I'm only collecting the power of the four Seed Crystals before I destroy them and seal away your friends forever!" hissed Kasushiusu. "Without their Seed Crystals, they won't stand a chance against Master Myoujou because they'll be dead! Your friends won't exist anymore after I'm through with them!"

"You heartless bastard!" spat Tamashii.

"I might not have been a bastard in my previous life, but heartless? That I am."

"And what will become of me? You're after me, aren't you? You've wanted me gone since the beginning! Why waste your time on my friends instead of coming to me first? Wouldn't that have made your job easier?"

"For a Chosen One, you're so daft," groaned Kasushiusu. "Don't you see, Tamashii? If I wanted to go after you first, I'd have to answer to your friends, but by eliminating them one by one, you wouldn't have anyone to protect you!"

"But how do you know I'm not being protected?" challenged Tamashii with an arched eyebrow. "They say that Shinmei watches us from above as our Eternal Protector. Why don't you hit me with your best shot?"

"Are you challenging me, Guardian?" chuckled Kasushiusu, summoning his sword into his right hand.

Lifting her chin high, she answered, "Yes."

"So be it!"

With his left arm extended out, Kasushiusu shot blast after blast of dark energy balls at his target and laughed menacingly as the continuous assault hit Tamashii until dust clouds surrounded him. Assuming that the lone Angelic Guardian was dead for good, he brushed away the dust with a wave of his free hand and walked away from the scene.

He suddenly caught a familiar figure from the corner of his left eye. _That can't be her,_ he thought, shuddering from the very idea that his enemy had escaped the horrendous attack that he had launched on her.

Once the dust had settled, he quickly turned on his heels and gasped in denial, "No! How can it be? How did you survive?"

Tamashii stood miraculously unharmed and unmarked. "You didn't believe me," she replied as she narrowed her eyes at him. "You didn't believe the power of Shinmei could protect little old me, did you?"

"No! No! No!" screamed Kasushiusu. "You can't live! You can't!"

He shot another energy ball at her, but he was nearly hit by his own attack as it flew past his left ear and collided into the wall behind him. He growled deeply and noticed that Tamashii had created an energy shield for protection. "You Angelic bitch!" he cursed as he began to charge her with his sword. "You're gonna pay for that!"

Just as he pulled his right arm back to strike her, he found himself flying into the air and landing flat on his back after colliding into the energy shield. "Such incredible power!" he gasped. "Who gave it to you, little girl? Shinmei?"

"Not just Shinmei," replied Tamashii coldly. Placing her left hand over her beating heart, she added, "My friends too."

"But how's that possible?" asked Kasushiusu as he rose to his feet. "They're not here to save your pretty ass! They're here wasting away by my crystal! How could they protect you?"

"I just know they're here right now. I believe it!"

Wordlessly summoning her bow and arrow into her hands, she prepared to make her one and only shot at Kasushiusu and slid the arrow into its notch on the left side of the bow. "You killed my friends and tried to stop them from being reincarnated; you took control over this school and tried to use these innocent people to your advantage against me, but, most of all, you freed Myoujou when he was supposed to be sealed away for a very long time," she hissed as she drew the arrow back to her ear. "I won't forgive you for all the evil you've done!"

"I'm twice as powerful as those before me. Don't think that your little arrow is going to kill me like it did to my demons!" boasted Kasushiusu as he created a small energy ball in his hands, collecting more and more dark energy to overpower Tamashii's arrow.

"I don't think… I _know_!" growled Tamashii.

Closing her eyes, she cleared her mind and envisioned her four friends trapped in the energy fields behind Kasushiusu. _"Guys,"_ she silently called to them. _"Guys, can you hear me? I need your help right now! Please, lend me the last of your powers so we can destroy Kasushiusu together and put an end to his plan! Please, you guys! Will you help me?"_

"They can't hear you!" cackled Kasushiusu, giving his energy ball more dark power as it continued to grow. "Try all you want, Guardian, but they can't help you! It's just you and me, Tamashii! You and me!"

Though they were unconscious like a dying old man in a coma, the four Angelic Guardians were still able to hear Tamashii's plea. Without moving a muscle, eye, or mouth, the crystal hearts of their brooches began to glow as bright as Kasushiusu's crystal. Tamashii's arrow had also started to glow as it drew power from every Angelic Guardian in that room. First came Medetai's joyful energy from the stars, followed by Iinaka's loving strength from the fire, then Shi' dark power of death, and finally Inochi's harmonic gift of life.

When she had received all that they were willing to give to her, Tamashii opened her eyes and stared intensely on her target. "You want me, Guardian? Come and get me!" she heard Kasushiusu crow evilly.

He used all his strength to hurl the giant ball of dark energy at her, but Tamashii refused to move and took aim at the energy ball with loud cry that could be heard throughout the library. "Angelic Damnation Attack!"

Kasushiusu's moment of triumph ended just as quickly as it started, and he watched in horror as the arrow burst through his energy ball and created a loud explosion.

But the arrow did not disintegrated in the blast, and it sliced through his uniform like a bullet. The sharp tip punctured his chest, and with a howl of pain, he was destroyed in a blinding light as the arrow severed him through his body.

Still in one piece, the arrow continued its path until it touched the very surface of the red crystal. The moment it dug itself into the hard gemstone, cracks slowly covered the outside, and Kasushiusu's treasure was nothing more than a pile of red dust expelling the stolen energy of his victims.

The blast from the crystal's destruction was just as strong as the atomic bombs that went off in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War The bodies of the four unconscious Angelic Guardians were protected from the aftermath and disappeared into thin air, but Tamashii was thrown against the wall behind her and slipped into a world of unconsciousness where the welcoming arms of death were waiting to greet her.


	23. Chapter TwentyTwo

**Author's Choice Song:** Wow. How do you think of something for this last chapter? If this were a movie, I would have chosen "One Girl Revolution" by Superchick and "Soulmate" by Natasha Bedingfield for the closing title. Alas, no... Or at least not yet.

Chapter Twenty-Two

From Hell and Back – A Bittersweet Farewell!

Sunlight poured into a white room through the cracks of a window shade as birds chirped in the blue sky over the Ankokuno residence. The brightness of the sun and the song of the feathery creatures outside his haven beckoned Jeison to awake from his peaceful sleep.

Cracking open his right eye, he noticed one major difference than from what he had last remembered: he was in his own room and not on the third floor of the Oukan University Library.

_I'm home,_ he thought as he slowly sat up in his bed and realized that he was in his favorite black pajamas. _Unless this is Heaven, how the hell did I get home?_

Looking at the window to his left and taking in the sun that had greeted him so kindly that morning, he sighed heavily in great relief and said to himself, "It was all just dream, dude."

He began to slip out from underneath his covers, but he stopped himself as his eyes came across a familiar object on his bedside table to his right. He reached over and took hold of a magical pen of gold and black onyx that was lying next to his alarm clock. He looked over and felt his heart skip a beat when he noticed the kanji character for _shi_ inside the crystal sphere.

_Shi?_ "Shit!" he cursed to himself. "It _was_ real! But how did I end up here if I died?"

He was suddenly startled out of his thoughts when he heard his cell phone ringing from his desk across the room. Walking over to retrieve it, he looked at the number and saw that Deibiddo was calling him. "Deibiddo?" he asked.

"Yeah, man," replied Deibiddo. "You need to come to the hospital right now."

"Why?"

There was a pregnant pause on the other line before Deibiddo answered gravely, "It's Rizu. She was found unconscious in the maintenance room over at the library, and she won't wake up."

"Is she alive?"

"Barely. She's in a coma, but I think we're gonna need Shi and Inochi for this."

Looking at his _henshin_ pen one more time, Jeison replied, "I'm on my way."

He arrived at the Oukan Hospital less than thirty minutes later to find Beronika, Megu, and Deibiddo in a private room sitting around Rizu's bed with a hint of fear and sadness in their eyes. He turned his solemn gaze to the unconscious girl in the bed. She was paler than the last time he saw her as if her energy had been completely sucked dry from her soul. Dark shadows surrounded her eyes, and blue veins were very noticeable than ever before on her arms and her hands. It was hard to tell if she was breathing, for her body barely made any movements that resonated with her pulse. She was hooked up to many machines with tubes running up into her nostrils and into her wrists, and thanks to the monitor near her bed, everyone in the room could hear her heart rate faintly beeping.

"A janitor found her like this in the maintenance room on the lower level this morning," said Beronika, causing Jeison to snap out of his thoughts for a moment. "I don't know how long she's been out, but she's lucky to be alive right now."

"What caused this?" asked Jeison.

"You're the Grim Reaper. You should know," mumbled Megu with a snort.

Jeison cast his younger cousin a sneer and said icily, "No, I don't. Just tell me."

Taking a deep breath, Megu replied, "Deibiddo thinks it's from exhaustion."

"Exhaustion?"

Turning to the Angel of Life for an explanation, Jeison gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean by exhaustion?" he asked.

"The power that Tamashii used to kill Kasushiusu was something more than she could handle alone," replied Deibiddo. "And since she was exposed to the negativity of Kasushiusu's crystal for a fraction of a half-hour, she might have had some of her energy stolen without knowing. If you put those two factors together, that would explain why she's on the brink of death right now."

"The crystal caused quite a bit of spiritual damage to all of us, but especially to Tamashii when she destroyed it because she was the only one alive," added Beronika. "With all the negative energy it was possessing and the fact that she used most of her strength in the last battle to destroy Kasushiusu and to save us and the rest of the campus, I don't think she was able to overcome its power when it was unleashed. It was just too much for her."

"What about us?" asked Jeison. "Why are we alive when we should be dead right now?"

"Because Tamashii used the last of her powers to revive us," answered Megu. "She gave up most of her life so we could live again in this time."

"But why?"

Looking up at Jeison, Megu replied sadly, "That's Rizu for you, Jeison. She's always thinking about her friends before herself. She did this out of love, and now we can have a second chance at life without being reborn."

"And what about her?"

"We can only hope she's stuck in Limbo," answered Deibiddo.

"Limbo? Isn't that in Hell?" asked Beronika in surprise. "Why would she be down there?"

"Regarding to Limbo being in Hell, that may be so, B, but she's also straddling the fence between life and death too," replied Deibiddo sadly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Sometimes, those that are in a coma can be found in Limbo, and there have been several deaths that had a happy ending—the soul going to Heaven. And then there are those who end up going past the first ring and further down Underworld."

"So, she's in somewhere in Hell, but she's not really dead, right?" asked Megu.

"I want to tell you for sure, but since we're dealing with Myoujou, I'm not quite certain if she is in Limbo. All I know is that she's definitely in Hell, and she's not dead, or at least what we considered as dead. Jeison would have felt her departure from earth if it were so."

"If she's not dead, then how do we get her out of her coma?" asked Beronika.

Turning his head to Jeison, Deibiddo gave him a serious look as he stood up from his chair and asked, "Don't you think it's time to visit an old friend of yours?"

Jeison snorted in disgust. "He's far from being an old friend. I'd rather mess with his little minions than Myoujou himself right now."

"You can't be serious, you guys!" protested Megu as she rose to her feet and tugged on Jeison's arm in an attempt to override his decision. "Please don't go! It's too risky!"

"We'll be fine, Megu," assured Deibiddo softly, giving her a small hug as a token of his promise. "As Shi and Inochi, we have done this for many years, and it won't be the first time we've saved Tamashii's ass. Myoujou has always had an eye on us since we were all created in the past, and he's been after Tamashii for a long time now. She'll be okay. We all will be."

Looking over at Beronika, he said to her, "I need you to keep an eye for anyone coming into this room. I don't want the doctors to suspect that you two poisoned us or something."

"What are you two going to do? Drop dead on us?" snorted Beronika.

"Consider it as an out-of-body experience."

Standing on the left side of Rizu's bed facing his companion, he extended his hands out for Jeison to take into his own. Fingers wrapped around palms in a tight grip and eyes closed, they summoned their inner powers to teleport to the Gates of Pandemonium. Papers flew wildly around them like a whirlwind, and in a loud voice, Deibiddo cried out, "Almighty Shinmei, who reigns in Heaven, please grant us the power to revive this innocent soul from the pits of Hell!"

At first, Beronika and Megu could have sworn that time had stopped around the two young men, for the papers had stood still in midair, but in a blink of an eye, gravity fell into place. The papers fluttered onto the floor, and the two male Guardians slumped onto the bed, still holding onto one another's hands.

Looking over the unconscious bodies, Megu asked, "Do you think they'll get her?"

Beronika shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Only our faith in Shinmei will tell."

Lines of damned souls from all over the world filled the streets of Pandemonium, and the sound of sad moans and groans bounced off the walls of the giant cavern that enclosed the city. Demons from Myoujou's army taunted the dead, spat in their long faces, and whipped a few that looked at the wretched creatures with eyes pleading for a pardon.

"Get back in line!" snapped a demon to a young Italian man who, according to Shi upon arriving at the scene, had committed suicide over the loss of his job and out of fear of his materialistic wife.

With a crack of a whip, the soul howled in pain and stepped back into his spot within the parade of sinners, all of which were either diving or jumping into the Lake of Fire with feet of lead.

"Thing haven't changed much since I've been here last," snorted Inochi as he watched the young man's mouth form a disgruntled frown upon his lips. "Still treating the dead like slaves in the States before the end of the Civil War."

"Or perhaps the days of Mo-zesu in Egypt," added Shi coolly as he followed a middle-aged American woman who had declared herself as an atheist long before her unexpected car crash.

Inochi nodded his head in silent agreement. He would occasionally turn an eye at the many demons torturing the dead with their whips and shudder at the thought of being whipped by accident. But no whip dared to touch him or Shi, for the demons knew who was walking among the souls. Despite of their cruel and arrogant attitude toward the Angelic Guardians, they were truly scared of the two who were barging in on their territory.

Every demon feared the Angel of Death and the Angel of Life except for one demon in particular. He was the watchman of the Lake of Fire whose job was to make sure no sinner escaped from sinking into one of the nine rings. He would mock and torment those who walked past him, and although he was small in size, he was still terrifying.

Many mortals would mistake him for Myoujou, or the Son of Myoujou, but he was neither Lord nor Prince of the Underworld. He was just a powerful creature that was appointed to guard the Lake of Fire and to serve as the opposite to Pi-ta in Heaven, but his main job was to make sure that each soul had walked through the patch of lead before sinking to the bottom of the lake. It was usually a simple task unless Shi and Inochi were making an unannounced visit to Hell for an appeal on behalf of Shinmei.

When the atheist had fallen through the fiery water, Shi stopped in his tracks just a toe away from the lead. This did not go unnoticed by the demonic guard. He looked at him with black, emotionless irises and snorted in disgust as if he was half-expecting the duo to show up. With a roll of his eyes, the demon spat, "Oh. It's _you_ again! I should have known you two were coming this way. Who do you want me to hand over this time?"

Grabbing the demon by his throat with his right hand, Shi yanked him up to his face until their noses were barely touching. "Where is Tamashii?" he growled.

"Tamashii? Tamashii who?" lied the demon. He knew where Tamashiiwas, but just to keep Myoujou happy after hearing Kasushiusu's defeat, he was determined to send the two Angelic Guardians back without their leader in their care.

Bu his answer was not sufficient enough to convince Shi. Instead, the demon found himself in a bigger bind as he felt the Angel of Death tighten his grip around his throat. "Don't play coy with me!" he hissed. "We know where you're holding her!"

"Look, pal," grunted out the demon, "if you want her, you'll have to get her yourself. But I seriously doubt you'd want to amputate your arm."

"What do you mean?"

The demon arched his right eyebrow and pointed at the bright, sulfuric water next to him. "She's in there," he replied.

"You threw her into the lake?" roared Shi, smashing the demon with all his strength against a pile of boulders of brimstone several times in his wrath. "How could you do that?"

Pulling the demon up to his face, the Angel of Death growled, "Why? She's not given herself over to Myoujou!"

"It w-w-wasn't my idea, s-s-sir!" stuttered the demon. "Master Myoujou wanted her there just to force you and Inochi to give up on your quest!"

"Is that so?" asked Shi with a sneer. "I'm not fully convinced that's the reason."

"But it is!"

Glowering at the demon in his grasp, Shi said coldly, "Then, tell your master for me that he can kiss my Angelic ass and that I have no fear of fire melting my skin off! I'm taking Tamashii home whether he likes it or not! If he has a problem with it, he'll have to answer to me, Inochi, _and_ Shinmei!"

With one final squeeze around the demon's neck, he added, "Got that?"

"Yes!" choked out the demon before he was cast aside.

With the wave of his hand, the lead that had surrounded the lake hardened and became sturdy enough for Shi to walk on without falling into the flaming water. The demons knew that if they dared to reverse the spell on Shi, they would have to face the wrath of Inochi, and dealing with an angry Angel of Life was the last thing they wanted.

Shi walked steps toward the edge of the lake as he searched for Tamashii's soul. His eyes thoroughly scanned the orange liquid until he spotted a very familiar face floating in his direction.

He immediately took his right arm and grabbed her soul by the neck. His forearm was singed from the moment his skin made contact with the fiery surface, but that was the least of his worries. An injury as an Angelic Guardian would heal faster than an injury as a mortal, and he was fairly certain he was not planning to battle again anytime soon. He dragged Tamashii's spirit out of the water and onto the cold bank where she began to become a solid figure as her skin hardened into its soft, pale complexion.

Shi looked down at his arm for a brief moment. His black glove had melted against his skin, and he felt excruciating pain that was greater than a third-degree burn. Biting the inside of his cheeks, he turned to Inochi with tears forming in his eyes and growled out through clenched teeth, "We need to get out right now!"

Inochi nodded his head, and using the strength he had in his arms, he picked up the unconscious girl and muttered under his breath, "I think you need to start losing some weight, Tamashii! I don't remember you being _this_ heavy before!"

With their leader in their possession, they rushed out of the city and toward the Styx where they had arrived just moments before, hoping they still had enough time to teleport back to the world of the living.

"They're breathing again, B! They're back!"

Jeison and Deibiddo's eyes slowly opened moments later as they heard familiar sounds of the real world filling their ears: the faint beeping of a monitor, the chattering of the nurses and doctors outside the closed room, and the squeal of delight and relief coming from Megu's mouth.

They were definitely alive.

Helping them onto their feet, the two young women began to ask incessant questions about their journey to the underworld.

"What was it like?"

"Did you get to meet Myoujou?"

"What happened down there?"

"Hold it!" bellowed Jeison over them. "One question at a time!"

Beronika's hand suddenly shot up and grabbed him by his right wrist, sending a wave of pain to his mind. He screamed bloody murder at the top of his lung and barked, "Why did you have to go and do that for?"

"What? What happened to your arm?" asked Beronika, roughly pulling him over to her direction as she examined where his burn was. "I don't see anything!"

"He might just be having painful spasms for now," chuckled Deibiddo.

"Why? What did he do?"

"He stuck his arm into the Lake of Fire."

"You what?" shrieked Beronika.

"That's where we found Tamashii, and I had no other choice but to reach out to her," explained Jeison. "At least it's not noticeable to the human eye."

"I hate to see what it looks like when you're Shi."

"It should be healed by the time we're called to fight again," assured Jeison.

"So, what happened to Tamashii?" asked Megu.

Before either Jeison or Deibiddo could answer her question, the heart monitor began to beep faster as Rizu started to go into cardiovascular arrest without warning.

"Shit!" cursed Deibiddo as he rushed to her side, holding her right hand in his. "Hang in there, Rizu!"

"What's going on?" asked Beronika frantically. "What's happening to her?"

Suddenly, Rizu's body began to go into a convulsion that was similar to an exorcism. It not only caused her friends to become more worried about her condition, but it also caused her heart rate to go faster and close to going out.

Jeison slowly pulled away as he realized what was happening to Rizu between her heart and her strange seizure. "She's gonna be okay, you guys," he said softly with a knowing smile. "She's finally reuniting with Tamashii."

"What?" asked the two girls in disbelief.

"Just look."

Turning their attention to their friend, Beronika and Megu noticed that her convulsion had suddenly stopped and that her heart rate had resumed to normal as if nothing strange had happened to her in the last two minutes.

Rizu opened her brown eyes to find her four friends standing around her bed with worried looks on their faces. "What's going on?" she asked hoarsely. "Why am I not in the library?"

"Oh, Rizu!" cried Beronika as she felt a sense of relief in her heart.

With tears of joy running down their faces, each Angelic Guardianembraced her with a warm hug and silently thanked Shinmei for watching over her the entire time.

Over the course of the final week of school, the quartet told Rizu their account of the last battle from the time they had teleported into the library to the time Kasushiusu was killed by a special attack that she had used with a combination of their powers. They walked through the courtyard one afternoon and noticed that the library had sustained no damage from the fight against Kasushiusu. It looked as if nothing strange had occurred. The students and faculty members that were Kasushiusu's victims had no memory of what happened, and everything seemed to be back to normal.

Only six people retained that particular memory: the five Angelic Guardians of Oukan University and Geiburieru himself.

"I'm very proud of you," he praised the group as they sat around the library fountain with the sun shining down on them. "You've saved not only Oukan but the world from Myoujou's reign for now."

"For now?" asked Rizu. "What do you mean? Isn't Myoujou gone?"

Shaking his head, Geiburieru replied, "Myoujou is never gone. Because of man's sin in the _niwa_, there will always be evil and chaos as long as there is good and order. It is only when good and order prevail in the end."

"So, we'll continue to face him, huh?"

"Yes. After all, this is only just the beginning of your journey, a journey you have chosen to follow because it is part of your destiny. It is what makes you unique in the eyes of Shinmei. You are the Chosen Ones to lead man to righteousness and victory over sin, and you are the Chosen Ones to prepare the way for Shinmei's kingdom.

"This is your calling, and you have now found it. It doesn't require a university degree. It doesn't even require instructional training from professionals! It simply requires one thing: your consent. The five of you consented to choose this destiny, and now this destiny has chosen you.

"I knew from the start that I would find not only Tamashii but also four new individuals from this time and this land who were perfect for the job. And now, I have found all of you here in this very school."

"But there are more than just us, right?" asked Jeison.

"Yes," replied Geiburieru. "While you might think the five of you are the only ones out there in the world, there are still those who have yet to awaken from their deep slumber. There are twelve all together, just like the twelve kingdoms and the twelve disciples, and we've only found five out of the twelve so far. I understand that with the summer approaching, vacationing across the world just to find more Angelic Guardians like yourselves isn't an option, and with your summer jobs, there's no time for a vacation."

"Do you think we'll find them here?" asked Beronika.

"I'm sure there will be more here at Oukan," said Geiburieru with an assuring smile, "but I'm also sure you'll find at least one other before your return. If not, then the time isn't quite right. Just keep your eyes open."

"Will we ever see you again?" asked Rizu.

"Of course! I'll be here come August. Besides, someone has to keep the lot of you out of trouble," chuckled Geiburieru with a playful wink. "But no matter where you will be this summer, I'll always be watching over each and every one of you and so will Shinmei."

Rizu never had a chance to see Megu and Jeison again after their final meeting with Geiburieru. Since both Angelic Guardians lived off-campus and since Myoujou was no longer a threat for the time being, they only came to the university if they had to take a final. Otherwise, it was either studying or relaxing time at home.

Deibiddo had moved out of his room two days later, leaving a note for Rizu and Beronika on their message board while they were out for lunch at Sukoti's one last time. He wished them a great summer, and he personally promised Rizu that he would stop by her concession stand whenever he was on her side of Roganu Beach. He could not wait to hang out with her and Robu, and he was looking forward to the summer despite of working at the campground.

Beronika's parents arrived that very Friday morning to help her pack the last of her belongings and load it all into their car. With the assistance of Jeison and Deibiddo beforehand, the loft was taken apart before "quiet hours", as the residence directors called them, went into effect for final week of school, and Beronika had agreed to take the parts home with her for storage until she was ready to move into her suite with Raura.

As much as she loved Rizu, she could not break her promise to her best friend. She was greatly distressed when she heard that Rizu did not have someone to replace her, and she secretly wanted to put all the blame on herself for Rizu's unfortunate situation. "Are you sure you're going to be all right with this?" she asked.

"It's no biggie," said Rizu sadly as she watched Beronika's father take the last of her luggage downstairs to the family car. "I'm sure Micchi will put me with someone as great as you."

Blushing profusely, Beronika said shyly, "Thanks. But I still feel bad that you have to find someone for the third time in a row."

"I'm used to it," insisted Rizu, folding one of her casual shirts and stacking it on top of a pile in her suitcase. "All that matters right now is summer vacation."

The small smile on Rizu's face did not go unnoticed by Beronika. She recognized that smile from before. It was the same smile she wore whenever she was thinking about Jeison and Deibiddo. "Okay, Rizu, spill the beans. Who is he?" she asked impatiently.

"Who is he what?" asked Rizu innocently.

"I know you've got another guy on your mind! Now, tell me who he is, or I will force it out of you!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, B!"

"Is there a guy you're planning to see this summer? Is that why you're so excited right now?"

"No!"

"So, why are you looking forward to vacation? Just by guessing how many times you've denied the truth, I know it's a guy, and I seriously doubt you're _that_ excited about going back to your summer job."

With a casual shrug of her shoulders, Rizu replied, "So, maybe I _am_ excited about my job."

Without missing a beat, Beronika hit the nail right on the head. "There's a guy from your job that you like, right?"

Just seeing the redness on the back of Rizu's neck gave her all the proof she needed.

About thirty minutes later, they stood in front of the threshold of what was once their shared room. With Beronika's side cleared and emptied out, the entire space now belonged to Rizu until the following morning. The only things that she was carrying in her hands were her car keys and her student identification card on a lanyard. Swallowing hard to hold back the tears in her eyes, she croaked, "I'm gonna miss you, Rizu. You've been the best roommate I've ever had, and I wish we could be together again one last time."

"Me too," said Rizu sadly.

Just as they were about to give each other a final goodbye hug, Beronika's cell phone vibrated in her pocket to alert her that she had received a text message. Flipping up the cover, she found out that it was Jeison who sent her the message. "Why does that man always have impeccable timing?" she muttered as she opened the file.

Reading the text aloud, she said, "'B—hope u have a great summer vacation! ill be missin u a lot.' Oh, he winked at me."

"Figures he'd text you and not me," mumbled Rizu.

"There's more," said Beronika. "'Tell rizu that megu and i will miss her 2.'"

Softly laughing to herself, Rizu shook her head. "I think he knew I was standing right by you."

"Since this is Jeison we're talking about, I wouldn't put it past him," said Beronika. "But at least he thought about you."

"That he did, B. That he did."

Rizu was the last to leave for home early the next morning when Roderikku drove down from Roganu to pick her up for the summer. While he loaded her black refrigerator, her blue footlocker, and her plastic drawers, she took care of everything else and was finished within fifteen minutes.

"Looks clean," commented Micchi as he inspected the empty room one last time with Rizu's move-out papers in his hands. "Everything's gone except for what was supposed to be here when you first moved in."

Looking back at her, he said with a smile, "I think you can go home now, Rizu."

"Thanks, Micchi," said Rizu, taking the papers from him and signing her name and the date on the dotted line.

Giving Micchi the release papers and the room key, she added politely, "I'm glad I get to see you again next year."

"Me too," said Micchi with a nod. "I'm sorry Beronika isn't going to be your roommate. I know it's going to be hard to get over such a wonderful friendship that the two of you have demonstrated this year, but I think I might know a resident who could be perfect for you. I hope the two of you will be roommates for more than a single school year!"

"I hope so," sighed Rizu softly. "It's getting kinda tiring having a different girl every year."

"Believe me, Rizu, I understand, but the most important thing is this: did you have a great school year?"

Hearing Micchi's words triggered a memory in Rizu's mind. She recalled the conversation she had with Robu before the start of the fall semester in August, and she could still replay the scene in her head—him sitting on the counter in the candy room of the concession stand with her trying to bag pieces of candy. _But what was it that he said to me?_ she thought. _I could have sworn he said something about this year!_

_"__Rizu, I don't know what it is, but something is telling me that everything is going to be all right and that this school year is going to be memorable."_

_Well, Robu_, she mused to herself, _it sure was memorable._

With a big smile, she replied wholeheartedly, "The best I've had so far."


	24. Special Act

Angelic Guardians Special Act

An Easter Surprise for Jeison!

"But, Mama, I don't want to go see the Easter Bunny!" wailed a little boy in the middle of the Oukan Mall as he stood in the long line with his mother holding his hand. He was not the only child whining to get away from the man underneath the white furry costume. There had been dozens of children his age that were crying because they were scared of a tall, talking rabbit.

"You're going to see that rabbit and tell him what you want for tomorrow morning, and that's final!" reprimanded his mother. "You do it for Santa, but why not the Easter Bunny? It's not like he's going to eat you! Bunnies love carrots, not children!"

The squabbling between mother and child continued as Beronika and Jeison looked on from an iron bench while nibbling on their freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. "Were you ever scared of the Easter Bunny in the mall?" asked Beronika.

"Not as much as Santa Claus during the holidays," replied Jeison with blush on his cheeks. "I can still remember the first time Mama and Papa got me to sit on his lap."

"What did you do?"

"Peed my pants," muttered Jeison, taking a big bite of his cookie.

Giggling out loud, Beronika said, "I can see why you did that. Sometimes, those department store Santas are scary! At least you can't see the man behind the bunny suit."

"Not unless you were my sister who wanted to prove to me and my friends that the Easter Bunny wasn't real."

Arching a slender right eyebrow, Beronika asked, "What happened?"

"She had balls to grab the bunny's head and take the mask off right in front of us and the other kids," replied Jeison bitterly.

"How old were you then?"

"Ten."

Catching the shocked expression on Beronika's face, Jeison quickly faked a cough and added gruffly, "I was a late bloomer."

"Sure. Whatever you say," said Beronika with a smirk. "How old were you when you found out that Santa and the Tooth Fairy didn't exist?"

"For Santa, it was Christmas of that same year when I found out the truth about the Easter Bunny, but I never believed in fairies to begin with, not even the Tooth Fairy."

"Did your sister ruin Christmas that year for you?"

"Nope," answered Jeison quickly. "I did that myself. I pulled on the so-called beard when I was on his lap and found out it was fake. But I still believe in the man regardless if he is dead or alive these days."

"And the Easter Bunny?"

With a snort, he replied dryly, "Find me a bunny that carries a basket of chocolates and pastel-colored eggs, and then we'll talk."

Beronika had invited Megu over to her dorm that night to help her and Rizu paint boiled Easter eggs and put together baskets of chocolates for the girls on the floor and for Jeison and Deibiddo. Although there were just three of them, the job was still tedious and time-consuming. Each girl wanted to master the art of painting eggs just like their mothers from past Easters.

Once the baskets were filled with bright green basket grass, a handful of miniature pastel-colored chocolate candies, a chocolate bunny bar wrapped in foil, and one Easter egg, the trio decided to play a variation of one of their favorite games: Truth or Dare Jenga.

The rules were simple. For every long block that was taken out successfully without toppling over the tower, the player had to tell a truth. If the tower fell, the player had to do a dare. But unlike most people who played the game with sick, twisted dares such as kissing the opposite or same sex for so long and anything else of the sexual nature, the dares were very innocent.

That was until Beronika sent the tower crumbling to the ground after so many rounds of starting over. Looking at Megu and Rizu for a dare that they had in mind, she gave the girls a sheepish smile. "Oops?" she squeaked.

"A dare's a dare, B," sniggered Megu.

"What should we have her do?" taunted Rizu.

Megu pondered for a moment. There was no telling what she had in mind, which scared Beronika greatly. Both she and Rizu heard horror stories from Jeison that Megu once dared him to try on two of his sister's outfits one weekend—an outfit that he knew his sister would wear and another that she would not.

He still never forgave Megu for posting a picture of him in a dress and high heels to the public through the school's networking website.

"Tomorrow is Easter, and Jeison still has that crush on you, B," began Megu.

"Yeah, don't remind me of that," muttered Beronika.

Snapping her fingers, Megu finally reached a decision and exclaimed, "Okay! I got it! When you go out to his house tomorrow to deliver his basket, I dare you to wear a bunny suit."

Beronika stared blankly at her for a long moment in disbelief. "A bunny suit," she repeated. "I seriously doubt I could find a fuzzy, white bunny suit at this time."

"No, no, no! Not _that_ bunny suit! The _other_ bunny suit."

Rizu covered her open mouth and began to giggle at the thought of seeing her roommate wearing a corset, black tights, stiletto heels, a fluffy bunny tail, and a pair of bunny ears while handing over Jeison his basket. _Poor Beronika,_ she thought with glee. _This will just make Jeison's crush on her ever more intense to bear!_

But Megu was right. A dare was a dare no matter how innocent or dirty it was, and this dare in particular was far from being innocent.

It ranked up with her dare to Jeison and his short-lived escapade in cross-dressing.

After another trip to the Oukan Mall that Saturday night, Beronika carried two bags from Lolita's Closet with her head hanging down in shame. She spent over a hundred yen in one last-minute shopping spree, and she walked out of the store feeling flat broke and flustered. "I swear when I find Megu, I'll make her reimburse me!" she muttered angrily under her breath. "One hundred yen, my ass! Damn post-holiday sales!"

In most countries, the store would never have a bunny suit available around Easter, but Japan was different when it came to the younger generation. Selling "female bunny costumes" was big hit with the teenage and university-age crowds. Had this dare been made _after_ Easter there would most likely have been some money for Beronika to get by until her next trip to Koganei.

Damn dares.

Just as she past the women's lingerie store, she heard screams of young children coming from the other end of the mall where the faux Easter Bunny was usually found having pictures taken with a child or two on his lap. "So, they've found out the truth about the Easter Bunny," she sighed, assuming that an idiotic brat pulled the same stunt that Jeison's sister did years ago. "Some things never change, do they?"

As she turned to walk down the hallway that led to the southwest entrance to the mall, the screams grew louder and more horrifying than before, but it was not just the screams of the children that she was hearing. She could hear some that were coming from the adults too. "This isn't good!" she murmured to herself.

Rushing to the nearest department store, she ran up to the service counter and asked the young man at the register if she could leave her bags with him for a moment. Before he could either consent or protest, she dashed out of the room and down the hallway with her _henshin_ pen in her hand. "_Medetai_!" she cried out and instantly transformed into her angelic counterpart.

Dressed to fight, Medetai ran faster to see what all the commotion was about, but she was soon greeted by crowds of frantic people rushing past her to get out of the mall. Some pushed her away, and others slightly knocked her off her feet for a brief moment.

When the excitement had finally settled, she noticed two giant milk chocolate bunnies looking down at her with glowing red eyes. "I love chocolate and bunnies greatly, but not like this!" she whimpered. "Where did they come from?"

"Hmm. What do we have here? A party crasher?"

Standing between the two chocolate bunnies was a bunny demon dressed up like the love child of the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit from _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_. He wore a long-sleeved purple dress shirt with a yellow vest over his chest, a long pair of purple and yellow-stripped dress pants, a pair of black dress shoes, and a purple top hat on his head with two long white ears sprouting out from the sides. His humanoid body was covered with white fur that was as soft as a bunny's, and his eyes were a monstrous shade of pink. Three long whiskers hung from each side of his cheeks, and from his mouth was a long pair of abnormal front teeth.

Medetai was grateful that she not scared of rabbits, but she was already unsure about this one in particular

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" sneered the rabbit demon.

"I'm Medetai, the Angelic Guardian of Joy and the Stars. I'm here to stop whatever trouble you're causing to these people!" she answered. "And just who do you think you are stirring up trouble before Easter?"

"Why, certainly you've heard of me, little girl," purred the rabbit, summoning a pastel egg-shaped object into his right paw. "I'm the Easter Bunny! But you may call me Shiroino Usagi, or Shiroi for short."

"Alright, Shiroi! What game are you playing this time?"

With a tiring sigh, Shiroi answered wearily, "I'm getting tired of Easter these days. I don't know how Santa does it on Christmas Eve, but even an old bunny like myself can't be fast all the time. Every night after I deliver baskets to good little boys and girls, I'm too tired to do anything! I can't even lift a paw to eat my carrots!"

"Oh," said Medetai softly, feeling sympathetic for the bunny demon. "Do you need help this year?"

If she had seen a glint of evil in the rabbit's eyes, Medetai would have probably thought that she was hallucinating. Hiding his smirk from her sight, Shiroi replied, "Would you please, little girl? If you could do this entire city for me tonight, I'd really appreciate it!"

He gave her a basket full of chocolates and small eggs as he smiled at her with glee. "You're such a good girl. I'll make sure you'll get what you deserve this Easter."

A sense of awkward silence filled the space between them, but Medetai slowly came to her senses as she heard a strange ticking sound coming from the basket. _Oh no,_ she thought as she looked down at the giant egg in the plastic grass.

Rolling it onto its side, she discovered the face of a clock and the second hand moving quickly to the top in its final seconds.

"No!" she screamed as she tossed the basket in the air and shielded herself from the inevitable explosion.

The second hand struck twelve, and a click was heard before the egg in the basket blew up into a small fiery blast, and the chocolate candies suddenly went off in midair like small firecrackers.

"Damn it!" cursed Shiroi.

"So, that's what you were planning to do!" hissed Medetai. "You were going to kill all the children by planting egg bombs in their Easter baskets, weren't you? You're not the Easter Bunny I remember! You're a crook!"

Forming a pistol out of her fingers, she took aim at Shiroi and his chocolate bunnies and cried out angrily, "Shooting Star!"

The fake Easter Bunny did not have much time to hop away from the assault, and he found himself and his cronies trapped in the pure power of the giant star before it crushed the trio into nothing but dust.

The very next morning, Jeison heard the doorbell ringing from the front door of his house as he finished his breakfast in the kitchen. "I got it!" he called for his family to hear.

What he found when he opened the door was something between a dream and a surprise. There stood Beronika wearing a tight purple top with matching underwear, a pair of dark pantyhose and purple stiletto heels, a pair white wrist cuffs, a fluffy bunny tail on her bottom, and a white headband with long, fluffy bunny ears sticking at the top. She was also holding an Easter basket with his name on it.

Trying his best not to laugh or drool, Jeison said with a flushed face of embarrassment, "I take it you were dared by Megu."

Shooting a glare at the hysterical redhead in her car, who was taking pictures on her camera phone with Rizu next to her, Beronika replied sourly, "You think?"

After that dreadful Easter morning, she promised herself one thing: to never _ever_ play Truth or Dare Jenga again.


End file.
